A2
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2022
IN BRIEF
Providence Seaside Hospital
to close pharmacy
SEASIDE — Providence Seaside Hospital will
close its retail pharmacy on April 25.
The announcement came after seven years at the
location.
“The decision to close did not come lightly and
we have greatly appreciated serving the retail phar-
macy needs of the community over the years,” hospi-
tal spokesman Mike Antrim said. “Given ongoing and
increasing regulatory requirements, and balancing the
needs of the hospital and clinics, we feel this is the
right decision.”
Tongue Point Job Corps Center
seeks members for workforce council
Clatsop County briefs city on
surplus property for housing
By ERICK BENGEL
The Astorian
Surplus land that Clatsop
County owns within Astoria
city limits could be used for
low-income housing .
At an Astoria City Council
work session on Friday morn-
ing, the council discussed
with county leaders what
could be done to add housing,
child care and social services
on properties the county put
up last week for expressions
of interest.
Among the 15 properties
the county has made avail-
able, eight are in Astoria.
“We’ve never before taken
a hard look at the use of our
county-owned land for hous-
ing,” County Commissioner
Pamela Wev, who represents
Astoria, said.
One downtown lot, the
site of the former Darigold
Building at Ninth and Duane
streets, is used for parking.
Seven vacant lots of about
9 acres between Astoria Mid-
dle School and Olney Avenue
have topographical concerns,
such as trees and slopes.
Assistant County Manager
Monica Steele said the county
wants to hear from develop-
ers about what can be done
with the wooded parcels.
The county has set aside
federal American Rescue
Plan Act funds for housing,
which potentially includes
micro shelters, Steele said.
“It is the city’s decision how
that approach is taken, but the
county is here to support,”
she said.
The City C ouncil dis-
cussed the main forms small
dwellings can take — from
shelters for people transition-
ing out of homelessness, who
could have supportive ser-
vices on-site, to tiny homes
for people priced out of the
housing market.
When the issue of tiny
homes came before a dif-
ferent City Council several
years ago, councilors ulti-
mately directed city staff not
to pursue it, arguing it was
inconsistent with Astoria’s
architecture.
At Friday’s work session,
all fi ve councilors said they
would be open to the micro
shelter concept.
The deadline to submit
ideas for the county parcels is
May 13.
Tongue Point Job Corps Center is seeking new
members for its Center Workforce Council, which will
meet virtually on May 18.
The workforce council is made of members of the
public, including public offi cials and industry profes-
sionals, who provide feedback to Tongue Point Job
Corps about training programs. The council meets
twice a year.
Interested applicants can email Melissa Padgett at
Padgett.Melissa@jobcorps.org.
Business owners start nonprofi t for Heritage Square
Warrenton High School club
to host multicultural fair
The goal is to create
a community space
The Warrenton High School Multicultural Club is
hosting a fair that will showcase various cultures from
around the world.
The fair, on Wednesday at Warrenton Grade School,
will feature trivia, activities for kids and booths on
specifi c regions and cultures from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Entrance to the fair is free, and all donations will go
to the club, which was founded in 2019 to honor stu-
dent diversity at Warrenton High School.
— The Astorian
DEATHS
In Brief
Deaths
April 15, 2022
OLSON,
Anna
Aurora, 93, of Asto-
ria, died in Astoria.
Caldwell’s
Luce-Lay-
ton Mortuary of Asto-
ria is in charge of the
arrangements.
April 13, 2022
SMITH, Don, 61, of
Astoria, died in Astoria.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary is in charge of the
arrangements.
MEMORIALS
Monday, April 18
Memorials
TA R A B O C H I A ,
Joseph Burton — Recita-
tion of the Holy Rosary
at 12:30 p.m. at St. Mary,
Star of the Sea Catho-
lic Church, 1465 Grand
Ave., followed by a
Mass of Christian Burial
at 1 p.m. Private burial
follows at Ocean View
Cemetery in Warrenton.
An online guest book
may be signed at cald-
wellsmortuary.com
Thursday, April 21
OLSON, John Fred-
rick — Vistation from
10 a.m. to noon, Cald-
well’s Luce-Layton Mor-
tuary, 1165 Franklin
Ave. Olson, 82, of War-
renton, died April 12 in
Warrenton.
ON THE RECORD
Criminal trespass
DUII
On
the
• Thomas
Lee Record
Free-
• Adam Alexander
man, 60, of Astoria, Smith, 37, of Astoria,
was arrested on Mon-
day for first-degree
criminal trespass and
third-degree
crimi-
nal mischief. Free-
man was found sleep-
ing in someone’s rental
home on the 1300 block
of Jerome Avenue in
Astoria.
Theft
• Kayla Marie Hun-
dley-Sandoval, 29, of
Astoria, was arrested
on Monday at Walmart
in Warrenton for sec-
ond-degree theft.
was arrested on Saturday
at 22nd and Commercial
streets in Astoria for driv-
ing under the infl uence of
intoxicants, reckless driv-
ing, second-degree crimi-
nal mischief and refusing
to take a Breathalyzer test.
Smith allegedly struck a
power pole, which splin-
tered and collapsed onto
the vehicle, police said.
The incident closed the
road for about 12 hours
while a power company
dismantled and replaced
the pole, police said.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
MONDAY
Warrenton Marinas Advisory Committee, 2 p.m., City
Hall, 225 S. Main Ave.
Jewell School District Board, 6 p.m., Jewell School Li-
brary, 83874 Oregon Highway 103.
Astoria City Council, 7 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
TUESDAY
Port of Astoria Commission, 4 p.m., 10 Pier 1, Suite 209.
Cannon Beach City Council, Design Review Board and
Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall, 163 E. Gower Ave.
Gearhart City Council, 6 p.m., special meeting on parks
master plan, (electronic meeting).
Seaside Planning Commission, 6 p.m., work session, City
Hall, 989 Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Two downtown busi-
ness owners have started
Save Heritage Square Asto-
ria, a nonprofi t with the goal
of turning the block’s empty
pit into an outdoor commu-
nity space.
Diana Gulley, who owns
Gulley’s Butcher Shop,
and Nicole Maki, who runs
Women Web Design next
door, registered the nonprofi t
this month.
The women were vocal
opponents of a proposed
workforce housing project
at Heritage Square . The City
Council stepped away from
the project this month after
getting the fi rst detailed look
at the potential cost.
The City Council, which
was already divided over the
project, concluded the cost
was too high, especially given
the level of public opposition .
Maki said that while she
liked the housing idea, she
did not think Heritage Square
was the right spot.
She said her great-grand-
parents spent time at the
block and her grandson will
spend time there. “That’s
seven generations of Clat-
sop,” Maki said. “That can
A rendering of the Garden of Surging Waves with a plaza at Heritage Square.
always be a space that all of
us have shared.”
Maki and Gulley plan to
pitch a partnership with the
city in which the nonprofi t
can raise money to fi ll the
pit and turn it into a space
where people can gather for
concerts, markets and other
activities.
Even if the City Council
does not commit to creating
an outdoor community space,
Maki hopes to raise funds
that can assist with beauti-
fying Heritage Square, such
as fresh striping or adding
fl ower boxes.
“This project is just totally
focused on making sure we
have something there that
looks good,” Gulley said. “A
place people can go sit and
hang out. Some trees like for
Christmas festivals. Maybe
we can have our tree lighting
there and Santa.”
The city acquired the
property two decades ago
when Safeway moved to
Uppertown. After the foun-
dation of the former market
crumbled from heavy rains
in 2010, the pit became the
defi ning feature of the block.
The Garden of Surg-
ing Waves, a park honoring
the history of the Chinese in
Astoria, opened in 2014 with
the hopes of a plaza or amphi-
theater to follow.
Maki and Gulley want
to turn the page back to that
plan, which they outlined on
their website, Revise Astoria.
The City Council’s direc-
tion on Heritage Square has
shifted over the past several
years.
The c ouncil considered
Housing: ‘Doesn’t tackle workforce housing’
Continued from Page A1
Wendy Klein, a devel-
opment manager with Port-
land-based
Community
Development Partners, said
the design would match the
original footprint of the for-
mer St. Mary’s Hospital.
Klein said 25 units would
be reserved for people on the
housing authority’s hous-
ing choice voucher program
waiting list, who tend to pre-
fer one-bedroom apartments.
Most earn 30% and below of
the area median income, and
many are seniors.
Thirteen units would
be reserved for supportive
housing for people facing
homelessness.
“To get a project fi nanced
to meet the state’s goals,
we really follow the lead of
the state’s priorities,” Klein
said.
She said full-time resi-
dent services will be avail-
able at the annex. T he hous-
ing authority will partner
with Clatsop Community
Action to provide supportive
housing case management.
The project would be
fi nanced primarily through
low-income housing tax
credits and other govern-
ment assistance.
The housing authority
plans to apply to the state for
government fi nancial help
by the end of the month.
The agency expects to learn
whether the application for
government funding has
been approved by August.
If the project is awarded
The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority has proposed more
aff ordable housing at Owens-Adair near downtown.
funding this year, it would
resume the design process
and go before the city’s His-
toric Landmarks Commis-
sion for review.
Construction could begin
by the summer of 2023 and
the project could be com-
pleted by 2024.
“Obviously our aff ord-
able housing needs are
huge, and across the whole
spectrum of incomes,”
Mayor Bruce Jones said.
“This doesn’t tackle work-
force housing for us at all,
but it does tackle that one
slice for seniors and folks
needing the permanent sup-
portive housing and low-in-
come housing. And that’s
critical to addressing the
shortfalls in other areas.
Just by providing housing
for one segment, and you’re
freeing up housing in other
segments.”
Jones and others on the
City Council noted the
similarities in the fi nancing
and timeline between the
Owens-Adair Annex and
the workforce housing pro-
posal the city considered at
Heritage Square. The City
Council backed away from
the workforce housing proj-
ect this month over con-
cerns about the estimated
$37.8 million cost and vocal
community opposition.
“I know with the Her-
itage Square proposal ...
the average, I think, was ...
basically $400,000 per unit,
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and people were in shock
that anything could cost
that much,” the mayor said.
“And I think this is a good
reality check. Your project
— $22.6 million, $452,000
per unit — this is the reality
check of what housing costs
today. And especially, as
you note, you want a quality
building that will last a very
long time, be a credit to the
community, not become
rundown, just as the Heri-
tage Square proposal was to
have been very quality and
architecturally compatible
with the historic downtown.
“That means it’s more
expensive. That means it
costs more to make a qual-
ity building that lasts for
decades and decades.”
City Councilor Tom Hil-
ton said, “I’m sure our com-
munity will defi nitely look
forward to the development
of that building. It’s very
historic, St. Mary’s Hospi-
tal. I spent a lot of time in
the emergency room there.
“Thank you very much
for what you’re doing for
our community. It’s desper-
ately needed,” he said.
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Heritage Square as a site for
a new library with the poten-
tial for housing before reject-
ing the idea in 2016.
In 2017, the c ouncil agreed
to make housing at Heritage
Square a policy goal, but no
progress was made until last
fall, when city councilors
identifi ed workforce housing
as the priority.
Megan Leatherman, the
city’s community develop-
ment director, said it is up to
the City Council on how the
city proceeds with Heritage
Square.
She said the city has
worked with groups in the
past that wanted to tackle or
clean up certain areas. She
said that as long as groups
want to operate within legal
parameters, the city is willing
to work with them.
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