»INSIDE
THURSDAY
JULY 14
2022
Discoverin e g
the shor
H
SEASIDE BEAC RNS
PROGRAM RETU
PAGE 8
L
A PRACTICA
HISTORIC
FEATURE
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CAVIAR
OMELETS
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2022
150TH YEAR, NO. 6
$1.50
Coast
Guard
invests at
Tongue
Point
A $30 million contract to
prepare for cutters
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a
$30 million contract to expand facilities at
Tongue Point in preparation for new fast
response cutters.
GWWH A Joint Venture, a Watsonville,
California-based company, was selected to
design and build improvements to infra-
structure at Tongue Point, including a fi xed
pier, two fl oating docks and several other
additions. The contract also includes plans
for extensive dredging around the pier.
The upgrades are necessary for the new
cutters, with the fi rst one expected to arrive
in Astoria in March 2024.
“The expansion of the facilities at
Tongue Point is the fi rst critical step in
bringing the newest class of cutters to the
Oregon Coast,” Coast Guard Capt. Scott
Jackson, the commander of Sector Colum-
bia River , said in a statement. “The fast
See Tongue Point, Page A6
Wright
to run for
Seaside
mayor
Hopes to succeed
Barber in top post
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
SEASIDE — City Councilor Steve
Wright has announced a campaign for
mayor in the November election.
Wright, who was
appointed to fi ll a coun-
cil vacancy in 2016 and
elected to a four-year
term in 2018, will seek to
replace Mayor Jay Bar-
ber, who is not running for reelection.
Wright serves as council president. He
is also the board president of the Seaside
Museum & Historical Society.
“I have a real passion for Seaside,” said
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
The Astor Building is the tallest building downtown.
Astor Building to transition out
of federal housing program
Low-income
apartments
are subsidized
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
he Astor B uilding, which pro-
vides 48 units of low-income
housing downtown , has opted
to transition out of a federal program
that subsidizes the units by next July.
The property owner maintains an
annual contract with the Northwest
Oregon Housing Authority for the
units, which are subsidized through
the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development’s moderate reha-
bilitation program.
The program provides proj-
ect-based rental assistance for low-in-
come families and can support people
who earn up to 80% of the area median
income. The amount of assistance var-
ies, but it adjusts a household’s income
so people only pay 30% toward rent.
The program, which was designed
to upgrade the nation’s housing stock,
was repealed in 1991, but the federal
government has continued to fund and
honor existing agreements.
Under the program, the subsidy is
tied to the units, not the renter , and the
units have a waiting list. If a tenant
were to choose to move, the subsidy
would not follow them. They would
have to get on the housing authori-
ty’s housing choice voucher program
waiting list to fi nd new rental housing,
which could take years.
When the contract at the Astor
Building is terminated next July, res-
T
idents will be able to remain in their
units with tenant-based assistance
from the housing authority as long
as the unit continues to be off ered as
rental housing and there is no cause for
eviction.
The owner can increase the rent and
the diff erence will be covered, allow-
ing tenants to continue paying 30% of
their adjusted monthly income.
However, once the contract expires,
there will be no obligation for the units
to be rented to low-income tenants
when they become available.
Some residents told The Astorian
that there was panic and confusion
over the Astor Building’s one-year
notifi cation letter and what it would
mean for them come next July.
Paul Caruana, a contractor and
designer who owns the building, said
there are pros and cons to the pro-
gram , but ultimately “all we’re doing
is switching the payment that we use
with HUD.” He said that has been the
message communicated to residents.
“Everybody living in the building
can stay in the building,” he said.
Prominent landmark
The Astor B uilding, formerly the
historic John Jacob Astor Hotel , is the
tallest building downtown and a prom-
inent landmark .
The 14th Street building opened
with subsidized one-bedroom and stu-
dio units in 1984 after sitting vacant
for about two decades.
Caruana purchased the building
with a business partner in 2008. He
became the sole owner in 2015, and
that same year approached the City
Council for $150,000 in urban renewal
funds to help restore the façade.
The City Council granted the
request with the caveat that at least
half of the apartment units remain
for low-income tenants. Caruana said
he has since paid off the funds, add-
ing that the low-income provision was
only a condition while the money was
still owed.
The two-story lower portion of
the building houses offi ces and retail
shops and The Ruins, an event venue.
The top six stories of the L-shaped
building house 66 apartments.
Caruana said some of the units were
converted to market rate before he
purchased the building, and since then
some more have moved out of the fed-
eral program for a variety of reasons.
In the past, Caruana said it could
take months to get some of the subsi-
dized units fi lled. Meanwhile, he said,
people looking for market-rate hous-
ing at the building were being turned
away.
He said the situation improved
when he decided to give the housing
authority a time frame for units and
convert them out of the program the
following year.
Caruana credits the infusion of
more market-rate units with improv-
ing some of the behavioral problems
the building experienced early on. He
said providing subsidized housing was
a learning curve.
Some people who were moving in
were not fi t to live on their own with-
out support , he said. He later learned
he could change the criteria for new
tenants to ensure they could live on
their own.
Over time, Caruana identifi ed the
criteria important to keeping the build-
ing safe and enjoyable for everyone.
See Housing, Page A2
See Wright, Page A6
Library levy to go on ballot in Warrenton Children eligible for
summer meals program
A 5-cent increase
to the tax rate
Free food provided
at several locations
By ETHAN MYERS
The Astorian
WARRENTON – V oters will
weigh a levy in November that
would increase staffi ng levels and
help fund operations at the Warren-
ton Community Library.
The City Commission voted
Tuesday to approve the l ibrary
board’s recommendation and put a
fi ve-year local option levy on the
By ALEXIS WEISEND
The Astorian
See Levy, Page A6
Colin Murphey/The Astorian
A levy to fi nance improvements at the Warrenton Community Library is
headed for the ballot.
With many families facing the
lingering eff ects of the coronavi-
rus pandemic and rising costs due
to infl ation, a summer meals pro-
gram could help fi ll the gaps for
children.
The Oregon Department of
Education is working with local
school districts to distribute food
to children 18 and under at several
sites across Clatsop County .
“These free meals may be the
only nutritious meal of the day
for some children,” Patti Atkins,
a public aff airs specialist with the
Department of Education, said in
an email.
The distribution sites , which
include Tapiola Park and Fred
Lindstrom Memorial Park in Asto-
ria, can be found via the Depart-
ment of Education’s website .
Grant Roe, who hands out
meals at Fred Lindstrom Memo-
rial Park , said he wishes more chil-
dren participated . He said he usu-
ally has leftover food when he
leaves.
Mike Kelly, the food services
director for the Astoria School
District, said the distribution sites
See Meals, Page A6