»INSIDE
WEEKLY
RTAINMENT
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THURSDAY
NOV. 4
2021
KING OF THE COURT
PICKLEBALL SURG
ES ON NORTH
COAST
PAGE 7
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POETRY CON OUNCED
ANN
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2021
149TH YEAR, NO. 55
$1.50
HERITAGE SQUARE
City
reaches
out to
developers
Workforce housing
planned downtown
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Many restaurant owners opposed the food tax.
Cannon Beach food tax
leading by slim margin
Some of the revenue would
go for emergency response
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
C
ANNON BEACH — With
most of the vote counted, bal-
lot returns show a controver-
sial food tax passing with less than
two dozen votes to spare.
Voters were split 52% to 48%, or
340 votes to 317 .
All that remains to be counted are
ballots turned in at the drop box at
City Hall before the Tuesday night
deadline.
“I fi gured, pass or fail, it would
be within votes of each other,” Fire
Chief Marc Reckmann said.
M easure 4-210 would levy a 5%
tax on prepared food at restaurants
and similar businesses. The city would
split the revenue — an estimated $1.7
million annually — with the Cannon
Beach Rural Fire Protection District.
The city’s cut of the money would
go to infrastructure projects, includ-
ing a new City Hall and police sta-
tion. The fi re district, which relies
on property tax dollars and grants,
would use its portion of the revenue
to help fund operations.
See Food tax, Page A6
Voters back Knappa school bond measure
Money will fi nance
school improvements
See Heritage Square, Page A6
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
oters in Knappa have backed a
$14 million bond measure that
will make improvements to schools .
The measure was passing 68% to
32% with most of the vote counted
Tuesday night.
The bond money will fund the
construction of a new facility con-
taining several classrooms, a sci-
ence lab and learning hub at the mid-
dle school to replace aging portable
units. The money will also go toward
constructing a community gym at the
elementary school, along with devel-
oping space for a new preschool.
V
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
See School bond, Page A6
A bond measure will fi nance improvements to Knappa schools.
By ABBEY McDONALD
The Astorian
Last year, the impact of the coronavi-
rus pandemic wrapped around Buoy Beer
Co.’s C zech Pils cans, which were down-
graded to plain silver sheathed in a label
rather than printed branding.
“It was really hard to source raw mate-
rials,” said David Kroening, Buoy Beer’s
president. “(We were) just barely trying to
get enough raw materials in place to keep
Businesses
complain
about
homeless
Concerns rise after
drop-in center opened
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Breweries along the North Coast
outperformed state during pandemic
Volume was up,
but revenue dipped
City leaders took the fi rst concrete step
to secure a developer to create workforce
housing at Heritage Square.
On Monday night, the City Council,
acting as the Astoria Development Com-
mission, authorized staff to issue a request
for expressions of interest, a less formal
process than a request for proposals that
looks to developers to pitch their ideas .
In the document, the city acknowl-
edges that Heritage Square could be par-
ticularly diffi cult to redevelop, but the
city is ready to be fl exible. The property
near City Hall is dominated by a hole
where the foundation of an old Safeway
collapsed more than a decade ago after
heavy rains.
“The c ommission recognizes that the
site can’t accommodate every possible
need/desire of the community, and that
some uses will likely require supplemen-
tal funding,” the document, prepared by
city consultant John Southgate, states,
“but the c ommission seeks a developer
partner who is open to examining the
possibilities.”
Developers will have until Dec. 20 to
submit their proposals. It is a quick turn-
around for this kind of project and the
city will likely see fewer applicants as a
result, Southgate said . But a condensed
timeline is necessary so any developer
selected can pursue key state funding
sources before deadlines close.
Redevelopment of Heritage Square
has been discussed for years. C ity coun-
cilors have considered various options,
including the possibility of building a
new library there. The Garden of Surg-
ing Waves was dedicated in 2014, but
city leaders were torn on how to address
the collapsed section of the block imme-
diately adjacent to the park. Some in the
community advocated for an amphithe-
ater, while others wanted to see more
parking.
beer fl owing.”
Supply shortages were among several
blows to the Oregon craft beer industry
during the pandemic. The biggest, how-
ever, came when bars and restaurants shut
down draft beer sales.
Overall, the state saw a 22% decrease in
sales between 2019 and 2020, with brew-
ers selling around 300,000 fewer barrels,
according to data from the Oregon Liquor
and Cannabis Commission.
Despite the statewide decline , Fort
George Brewery and Buoy Beer sold more
barrels of beer during the pandemic than
before , making the North Coast stand out
during a tough year for the industry.
Among more than a dozen breweries
with a similar barrel output, less than half
increased sales during the pandemic.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Old and familiar tensions are bubbling
up on Commercial Street after the open-
ing of a new daytime drop-in center for
people who are homeless.
At a meeting Monday , City Coun-
cilor Tom Hilton said he’s heard concerns
about safety downtown — especially at
night — and about homeless people who
gather at the Garden of Surging Waves
near City Hall and in front of LiFEBoat
Services on Commercial .
Two business owners and an employee
at another business on Commercial
lodged their own complaints with the City
Council . They said the crowd that gathers
outside of LiFEBoat can be intimidating
to customers and pedestrians and is hurt-
ing their business .
Sometimes, the people are smoking
or drinking. They harass passerby. There
have been uncomfortable interactions;
feces, urine and trash left behind; people
sleeping on the sidewalk or in doorways.
See Breweries, Page A6
Canned beer sales helped Buoy Beer Co. and
Fort George Brewery weather the pandemic.
See Homeless, Page A2