A6
THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, MARcH 26, 2022
Forum: ‘Everybody’s out there
trying to do their best just like you’
continued from Page A1
Alex Murphy
A second open house on a proposed workforce housing project at Heritage Square was held
Thursday at the Astoria Armory.
Open house: City Council could
vote on the next step on April 4
continued from Page A1
gram-focused activities,” Baker said.
The building would include up to 97 apart-
The revision to the outline would remove ments. Sixty-four of the units would serve
retail space and office space for Clatsop people earning 60% to 80% of area median
Behavioral Healthcare’s Open Door program income. That means, to be eligible, most
from the ground floor. The mental health workers would need to earn around $14.74 to
agency is partnering with Edlen & Co. on $19.65 an hour, or $30,660 to $40,880 annu-
a supportive housing component for people ally, using 2021 figures.
The other 33 units would be reserved for
struggling with mental health and substance
supportive housing priced for people at 30%
abuse issues and facing homelessness.
The four-story building would sit on the of area median income.
eastern portion of the block and include a
The open houses were an opportunity for
community room on the ground floor along Edlen & Co., a Portland-based developer,
Duane. It would also
to finalize the basic out-
line
before the City Coun-
include offices for two
IF THE PROJECT
cil decides whether to take
Clatsop Behavioral Health-
care housing retention spe-
the next step on the project
IS APPROVED
cialists and for Open Door
in April.
BY THE CITY,
staff when they come to
The City Council will
work with clients. A room
hold work sessions on
CONSTRUCTION
would also be dedicated for
Wednesday and Friday
a live-in resident manager.
COULD BEGIN BY covering financing and
Amy Baker, the exec-
commitment would
THE SUMMER OF what
utive director of Clatsop
be needed from the city to
Behavioral Healthcare, said
2023 AND COULD move forward.
the removal of the Open
In order to apply to the
BE COMPLETED
Door program was not her
state for government finan-
cial help this year, the
first choice.
BY 2025.
“While my preference
developer must meet the
was to have Open Door
application deadline on
on-site, having a captive audience within the April 22.
building is still better than what we have now
The City Council could vote on whether to
because our clients would be easier to find take the next step on April 4.
and to provide ongoing support,” she said.
If city councilors agree to move forward,
The program’s staff, which include case there would be a pause until August, when
managers, therapists and nursing staff, will be Edlen & Co. expects to hear whether the
able to use the offices dedicated to the hous- application for government funding has been
ing retention specialists when they visit cli- approved.
ents, Baker said. The live-in resident man-
If the team secures state funding this year,
ager will ensure the building remains tidy, it would resume the design process, com-
things run smoothly and that the residents are munity engagement and review by the city’s
Historic Landmarks Commission.
abiding by the good-neighbor agreement.
“We would also have a community space
If the project is approved by the city, con-
for the residents where we can have commu- struction could begin by the summer of 2023
nity meetings, recovery groups and other pro- and could be completed by 2025.
“The vast majority of the homeless popu-
lation are not there by choice,” Police Chief
Geoff Spalding said. “They don’t want to be in
that position. And they do need help.
“We’re talking about a small percentage
of individuals who choose not to conform to
community standards. And those are the ones
that we as a police department want to hold
accountable,” the police chief said. “I think
people are fed up. But at the same time, we
can’t lose sight that we’re still dealing with
humanity.”
The panel included representatives from
the city, the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber
of Commerce, Clatsop Community Action,
Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare and LiFEBoat
Services. Representatives from Clatsop Eco-
nomic Development Resources, the Astoria
Downtown Historic District Association and
the Astoria Warming Center assisted in sorting
throughquestions from dozens of people in the
audience.
Alison Hart, a consultant and former exec-
utive director of the Oregon State Chamber of
Commerce, read the questions and comments
and guided the discussion.
David Reid, the executive director of the
Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Com-
merce, outlined concerns about camping,
loitering, threatening behavior and trash
downtown.
He called for collaboration, but said the
problems cannot continue.
“I encourage you to continue to care for
the people in our midst who are suffering and
needing, but not to forget those who are doing
nothing more than trying to make a living and a
positive contribution to our city and our way of
life,” Reid said. “Because those people deserve
our compassion, too.
“Right now, many residents and business
owners are mad at the current situation,” he
said. “I know I’m mad. We all deserve better
than this. I just don’t want us to be mad at each
other. Because we deserve better than that,
too.”
Sheriff Matt Phillips noted that the past two
years have been challenging for everyone in
the community. “And it’s issues that are largely
out of our control as individuals, like the pan-
demic,” he said. “And I think that leaves us
hungry to control those things that are near and
dear to us.”
Questions and comments from the audi-
ence ranged from how police can help down-
town businesses, the makeup of the homeless
population and who will protect homeless peo-
ple from harassment.
In addition to the tools under consider-
ation by the City Council to address behav-
ioral issues, Spalding encouraged businesses to
sign up for the city’s Property Watch program,
which authorizes police to take action against
unwanted activity at storefronts and other pri-
vate private property after hours or when own-
ers cannot be contacted.
Viviana Matthews, the executive director of
Clatsop Community Action, said the agency’s
annual point-in-time count has shown that over
80% of the homeless population has lived in
Clatsop County for more than a year and a half.
Mayor Bruce Jones said Astorians have a
right to demand that those who choose to live
in the community respect a common set of
community standards for behavior. But he was
also critical of people who have posted photos
and videos on social media of homeless people
who are in distress.
“And posting it online as if to say, ‘Look
at this, isn’t this horrible,’ and I feel it’s kind
of disgusting to put someone in that position,”
Jones said.
When one of the questions from the audi-
ence asked for examples of success stories,
Erin Carlsen, who works with Filling Empty
Bellies and LiFEBoat Services, asked people
who were near the back of the theater if any-
one would join the panel on stage to share their
story.
Monica Gibbs, who was formerly home-
less and now works at LiFEBoat Services, said
she had sought assistance from nearly all of the
social services organizations represented.
“And because of them, I’m alive, let alone
housed,” Gibbs said. “It’s not an easy road. I’ve
been housed off and on for a really long time.
It takes one choice. I chose the wrong person. I
wound up homeless.
“Everybody talks about the people that’s
on the street,” she said. “Everybody says stuff.
That’s me. That’s them.
“Everybody’s out there trying to do their
best just like you. It just takes us a little bit lon-
ger. So please, just be patient.”
Tilly: Morissette does not regret purchase
continued from Page A1
While cormorants and common murres
roost at the property, they no longer appear
to nest there like they once did historically.
Black oystercatchers, however, have been
documented breeding there. The oystercatch-
er’s global population is small and citizen
scientist volunteers closely monitor nesting
activity near Cannon Beach.
‘Something that we all have to face’
Morissette said she was raised around
lighthouses and her first priority for Terrible
Tilly has been to ensure its preservation. If the
lighthouse sells, she is dedicating $1.5 million
of the proceeds to put back into repairs and
cleanup at the property. Morissette plans to
retain a 3% royalty on future urn niche sales.
Though her plans for a columbarium were
not as lucrative or straightforward as she had
hoped, Morissette does not regret her pur-
chase all those decades ago.
The lighthouse is an important part of
American history, she said, and she’s proud to
have had a hand in keeping it standing.
Then there are the 31 urns. The families of
the people whose ashes are stored inside Ter-
rible Tilly cannot visit them.
But this is how Morissette sees it: You can
ride a horse down the beach. You can throw
a flower to the waves. You can hike to view-
points in Ecola State Park, maybe hold a fam-
ily reunion at the park. You can go salmon
fishing nearby and take time to say “hello” to
the loved one in the lighthouse.
“So in other words,” Morissette said, “I’ve
been able to take something that we all have
to face and sort of take the macabre out of it.”
This story is part of a collaboration
between The Astorian and coast community
Radio.
Shop locally online
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Paul Tuter, the co-owner of Vintage Hardware, works to add a gate into the fencing of the old
J.C. Penney Co. building.
Store: Vintage Hardware plans to
open at new location in mid-May
continued from Page A1
Fitzpatrick serves on the Astoria Planning
Commission, owns Wecoma Partners and the
Illahee Apartments and is running for mayor.
“She felt that it was time to change loca-
tions and I wanted to have her in there,” Fitz-
patrick said. “The building lends itself well
to that and I figured she would be the perfect
tenant to put in there.”
He said the building’s large windows and
open space will be a good fit for the furniture
and vignettes on display.
Fitzpatrick and Holen had planned to
develop a high-end food court in the space,
and hoped to split the 6,500-square-foot
main floor between several restaurants and
vendors.
Fitzpatrick said they could not complete
the plans due to supply chain issues and chal-
lenges in securing bids.
“It was unfortunate that it didn’t happen
as Chris and I had originally hoped, how-
ever, two years ago today I had no regrets
that it hadn’t gone through. Because I would
have been sitting on a fully improved build-
ing that would have had to sit vacant for sev-
eral months,” he said, referring to coronavi-
rus pandemic closures.
He said the vacancy allowed him to donate
the space to two local nonprofits during the
pandemic: Cinderella’s Closet through the
Assistance League of the Columbia Pacific
and Innovative Housing Inc.
J.C. Penney first opened in Astoria in 1916
and moved into the Commercial Street build-
ing in 1928. The department store closed in
2017.
“Cities like Astoria relied on having J.C.
Penney for certain things. It’s unfortunate
that they made that decision, but I think that
Vintage Hardware doing their retail is going
to be great in that location,” Fitzpatrick said.
Vintage Hardware doesn’t plan to reno-
vate the interior beyond cosmetic repairs.
“It is a lot of pressure. It is such a respon-
sibility because that building is so iconic
and just means so much to people,” Johnson
said. “So I feel really blessed and it’s really
an honor to be a steward of that building.”
In 2019, the Astoria Downtown His-
toric District Association secured nearly
$150,000 from the state, paired with a
$103,640 local match, to restore the Duane
Street facade of the building to reflect its
original architecture.
The group received an extension on the
grant, and Johnson said they have begun the
restoration process.
Vintage Hardware plans to open at the
new location in mid-May.
“We’re just so thrilled to bring life back
into a beautiful, important building, to be
on Commercial Street to be part of that traf-
fic,” Johnson said. “It’s just a real exciting
opportunity for Vintage Hardware and we’re
happy to know that we’ll be around for a
long time.”
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