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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, NOvEmbER 4, 2021
Breweries: ‘Anyone
who had growth last
year, by the end of
the year, it’s amazing’
Continued from Page A1
It came down to a quick
shift of focus from draft
sales to packaged beer.
“As a state, the craft
beer industry was hit pretty
hard last year. It was fully
dependent on how quickly
a brewery could pivot,”
said Christina LaRue, the
executive director of the
Oregon Brewers Guild.
Selling beer on draft
takes less packaging, and
is less time-intensive to
produce, which Kroening
said impacted Buoy Beer’s
production.
“That’s where all craft
brewers had a rough time
both from the on-premise
stuff closing down at their
own locations to draft beer.
So while we had an increase
in volume, it all shifted into
cans and we didn’t sell very
much draft,” Kroening
said. “Volume was there,
but not the same revenue or
profitability.”
Both Fort George and
Buoy Beer sold more
beer, but made less money
because canned sales bring
less revenue. But increas-
ing volume was still a good
direction, LaRue said.
“I wouldn’t say that
it was huge growth,” she
said. “But anyone who had
growth last year, by the end
of the year, it’s amazing.
Because so many did not.”
Fort George saw 9%
growth in barrels sold,
according to founder Chris
Nemlowill.
“We were one of the
first breweries in Oregon to
put beer in cans, and really
lean into it. And so we’ve
been canning for quite a
while. We were just set
up in a way that we were
able to pivot towards put-
ting everything in cans,”
he said.
Before the pandemic,
Fort George’s sales were
around half in cans and
half in draft. He said they
were lucky to have recently
expanded into the Asto-
ria Warehousing property
on the riverfront, where
they had the storage space
to shift almost entirely to
canned sales.
“We definitely did take
a hit, though, because our
revenue was way down in
2020 versus 2019, because
when we sell cans of beer
to grocery stores it’s just a
lot less revenue than sell-
ing beer on draft,” Nem-
lowill said. “And really,
we like to have our beer
served and in bars and
restaurants.”
Nemlowill said that
with restaurants, includ-
ing the downtown Asto-
ria taproom, back open,
Fort George is returning to
pre-pandemic sales num-
bers. He added that it’s nice
to see customers in-person
again.
“That’s really excit-
ing for me, because that’s
really the reason that I got
into this industry,” he said.
“To create a community
gathering space.”
School bond: Safety, security
concerns will be addressed
Continued from Page A1
Measure 4-212 will
also address a number of
maintenance issues related
to aging infrastructure,
including
deteriorating
roofs, exterior surfaces and
plumbing. Electrical, heat-
ing and ventilation systems
willsee improvements.
Safety and security con-
cerns will be addressed
with the addition of new
fire sprinklers, locking
mechanisms and commu-
nication devices.
Levied at an average tax
rate of $2.20 per $1,000 of
assessed property value,
the bond rate is 3 cents
less than the average for
the Knappa School Dis-
trict’s previous bond. The
new bond will mature in
25 years.
The school district will
receive a $4 million state
grant to push the outlay to
$18 million.
“I’m just happy for the
kids and the teachers and
other district employees
who will benefit from it
— and the community at
large,” said Brian Mont-
gomery, the chairman of
Yes Knappa, a group that
formed to support the bond
measure.
“I was cautiously opti-
mistic I would say, but
not surprised, because our
community always seems
to turn out in support of
things like this when-
ever needed … It’s kind
of par for the course for
this group of folks. They
always step up to the plate
when needed.
“You don’t want to get
blindsided,” he said. “We
worked up until the last
few days on making sure
that people got out to vote.
I was pretty optimistic
about it based on the feed-
back from calling people
and talking to people.”
Over the past several
years, voters have sup-
ported other bond mea-
sures for school improve-
ments on the North Coast.
Seaside approved a $99.7
million bond in 2016 to
move schools out of the
tsunami inundation zone.
A $70 million bond in
Astoria and a $38.5 mil-
lion bond in Warrenton
approved in 2018 funded
upgrades to schools.
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Flowers and weeds have grown into the sides of the pit at Heritage Square.
Heritage Square: Zoning allows broad range of uses
Continued from Page A1
Only this year did city
councilors decide they wanted
workforce housing on the
property, driven by concerns
about a lack of affordable and
lower-cost, workforce hous-
ing in the region.
The request for expres-
sions of interest states the
city’s preference is to sell
the land to a chosen devel-
oper, but city leaders are
prepared to entertain other
scenarios, including options
like a long-term lease or a
joint venture to ensure the
desired development hap-
pens. The city is also consid-
ering a number of amend-
ments to its development
code to further pave the way
for any proposed project.
The zoning at Heritage
Square allows for a broad
range of uses, but housing
is considered a conditional
use. Some changes the city
might consider would be to
allow housing outright and
ease requirements on how
a building’s ground floor is
used. The city is also ready
to assist with coordinating
with the Oregon Department
of Environmental Qual-
ity. The site is considered a
brownfield and has contam-
ination issues.
“Note however,” the doc-
ument cautions, “that the
city’s willingness to enter-
tain any such code modifi-
cations will be based on its
determination that the mod-
ifications are necessary to
achieve a quality project.”
Food tax: Would not take effect until next summer
Continued from Page A1
The tax would not take
effect until next summer.
On Wednesday morning,
Mayor Sam Steidel was cau-
tious about calling the ballot
measure one way or another,
but said it did appear the
measure will pass.
“We have some time to
be sure that all the process
and goals are understood
and it functions smoothly
before the season hits,” he
said in a statement. “We
have a community guidance,
slim though it is. My focus is
to see it works for the benefit
of everyone in the commu-
nity: resident, business and
visitor.”
From the beginning, the
food tax prompted fierce
debate in the community.
Signs sprouted up around
town urging “no” votes.
The Oregon Restaurant and
Lodging Association also
weighed in on the question,
saying the tax would hurt
businesses. The organiza-
tion has opposed other food
and beverage tax measures
across the state.
On Tuesday, a similar
proposal in Newport to raise
funds for public safety, the
library, parks, city facili-
ties and other services failed
68% to 32%.
In Cannon Beach, Reck-
mann does not expect the
final tally to be the end of the
matter. If the vote remains
this close, he anticipates the
results could be challenged.
Given the uncertainty
‘WE WILL ENTER INTO THE
NEXT PHASE OF THE CITy HALL
PROJECT SOON ANd THAT NEEdS
COmmuNITy INvOLvEmENT. I
ASK RESIdENTS TO bE AWARE
ANd uNdERSTANd THIS WILL bE
AN INTENSE OPEN dISCuSSION
OvER THE COmING yEAR.’
Sam Steidel | mayor of Cannon Beach
over the tax’s success, Reck-
mann has already consid-
ered the possibility of going
to voters with a levy pro-
posal in May. The fire dis-
trict board meets Mon-
day and Reckmann said the
levy will be discussed as an
option if the food tax fails.
Calls for service rose
steeply last year, with the
majority coming from vis-
itors. In meetings with city
councilors this year, Reck-
mann warned city leaders
of tough decisions ahead
if the fire district could not
find other, stable sources of
funding.
The city and fire dis-
trict billed the food tax as
a way to get tourists to pay
their share for city and emer-
gency services while avoid-
ing an increase to residents’
property taxes. A city con-
sultant estimated much of
the food tax revenue would
be generated through visitor
spending.
The City Council debated
passing the tax as an ordi-
nance, but decided in a 3-2
vote in July to send the mat-
ter to voters.
Many opponents of the
food tax said they sup-
ported the fire district and
other emergency services
but worried about the timing
of the measure, coming on
the heels of social and eco-
nomic disruption caused by
the coronavirus pandemic.
They also expressed distrust
over how the city would use
its portion of the revenue.
In the weeks ahead of the
election — and after years
of debate — the City Coun-
cil voted to construct a new
City Hall and police station
where the existing facility
sits. It was, in part, an effort
to give voters a clear sense
of what they might be voting
for with the food tax.
“We will enter into the
next phase of the City Hall
project soon and that needs
community involvement,”
Steidel said. “I ask residents
to be aware and understand
this will be an intense open
discussion over the coming
year.”
Lolly Champion, a resi-
dent, has solicited feedback
on the food tax and advo-
cated against it through a
series of emails to others in
the community. She wrote
about the distrust she and
others felt with the city.
“I hope this ballot goes
down and we can start
again,” she wrote, “with a
levy for the fire district and
levy by the city for a City
Hall.”
Proponents said the food
tax would benefit everyone
with minimal impact to busi-
nesses and the community.
They pointed to the over-
burdened fire district and
the failing, unsafe City Hall
building. The new tax was a
simple solution to bring in
necessary revenue, but not
put all the financial weight
on residents, they argued.
Deb Atiyeh, a staunch
advocate for the tax, felt
confident it would pass in
the last few weeks before the
election.
Some people she spoke
with — the locals, she said
— hadn’t been aware of
the measure before she told
them about it. In general,
they were enthusiastic about
the tax and the revenue it
could generate, she said.
“Everyone knows the
needs of things that have
been kicked down the road
so long,” she told The Asto-
rian in October.