T he C olumbia P ress
1
50 ¢
C latsop C ounty ’ s I ndependent W eekly n eWspaper
503-861-3331
December 15, 2017
Pipe deficiencies
mean changes or
water rate hikes
College poised
for increased
maritime funds
B y C indy y ingst
Bill signed by
Trump could mean
expanded program
The Columbia Press
The Columbia Press
and news services
Maritime programs at Clat-
sop Community College could
win federal status making them
eligible for funds to expand,
and increasing the college’s
prominence in the industry.
President Trump signed the
National Defense Authoriza-
tion Act this week, approving
additional spending on the
military and programs like
those at the college. The House
and Senate passed the $700
billion bill last month.
Above: Students in a maritime
science class participate in a wa-
ter safety drill. Maritime science
training at Clatsop Community
College could get a boost.
Left: A student studies mechan-
ics aboard the Forerunner, the
college’s training ship.
Photos courtesy Clastop Community College
See ‘Maritime’ on Page 7
Some residents envision pedestrian overpasses
B y C indy y ingst
The Columbia Press
Most of us don’t spend our days
pondering improvements to the
city’s road system as city planners
and transportation engineers do.
But the tables were turned in
Warrenton last week, when resi-
dents were asked to dream about
ways things could improve.
Some of the ideas:
• Building a pedestrian overpass
above Highway 101 that would
connect the dike trail from the air-
port area to the path behind the
Premarq Center.
• Adding sidewalks on Main Av-
Vol. 1, Issue 50
enue connecting the high school
to the existing sidewalk system at
Ninth Street.
• Raising and widening the Ski-
panon River bridge on Highway
104 – also called Alternate High-
way 101 – west of Cash and Carry
market.
• Making a safe pedestrian path
or overpass that would connect
soccer fields on both sides of
Ridge Road.
• Connecting existing trails in
Hammond to Fort Stevens, par-
ticularly from Pacific Drive.
Oregon Department of Trans-
portation’s open house at Warren-
ton City Hall on Dec. 7 was meant
How to participate
To view the plan and have a say
about road, bike and pedestrian
improvements, visit
warrentontsp.com.
to garner ideas and input about
the city’s roads, hiking trails and
bike paths.
“We want to work our plans into
this jurisdiction,” said Ken Shonk-
wiler, a senior region planner for
ODOT.
It’s especially important in a
community like Warrenton be-
cause so many of its main arteries
come under state jurisdiction, in-
See ‘Transportation’ on Page 4
Warrenton has 89 miles of pipes in its water
system and many of them need to be replaced.
That was part of the dire news at a City Com-
mission briefing Tuesday by a consultant work-
ing on the city’s 20-year water master plan.
The other dire news: Warrenton residents will
need to cough up 25 million in to-
day’s dollars to address the pipes
and other deficiencies and ex-
pected improvements during the
next two decades.
“We’re already the highest in
the county and we need another,
what, 25 percent” increase in res-
idents’ water bills, Commission-
Baldwin
er Mark Baldwin lamented.
Cannon Beach water users pay an average of
$29.95 per month; Seaside users pay $32.46
and Astorians pay $37.42. Warrenton’s average
is $39.83.
The city has been too kind in charging low
fees to new commercial and housing develop-
ers, Baldwin said, “and we haven’t helped our
ratepayers one iota.”
F IxIng the problem
Warrenton should develop new agreements
with its largest water users – the city of Gear-
hart and Pacific Coast Seafoods – and plan for
a 1.8 percent per year average growth rate over
the next 20 years, said consultant David Stan-
gel, a public works engineer with Murraysmith,
which is developing the water plan.
Already the city is replacing all the city’s resi-
dential water meters and adding them to previ-
ously unmetered accounts, such as the marinas,
public works yard and wastewater treatment
plant. And it’s conducting a study, funded by
grants, to determine where the system’s leaks
are. As much as 40 percent of the city’s water is
lost through leaky pipes or faulty water meters.
Earlier this year, the city approved raising wa-
See ‘Water’ on Page 5