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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress June 15, 2018 Grant program could help residents clean up The Columbia Press Warrenton’s Urban Re- newal Agency wants to develop a plan that would provide grants to residents who want to clean up their property. “There is a façade grant program for commercial buildings; we could offer something similar for res- idences,” City Manager Linda Engbretson said. A potential problem is whether tax money raised within the urban renewal district can be used this way, she said. Urban re- newal districts are created to target blight in hopes of increasing an area’s eco- nomic vitality. The agency is an entity sep- arate from the City Commis- sion and has its own budget. An advisory committee made up of residents makes rec- ommendations to the agen- cy on various programs and spending decisions. A com- plete overhaul of Warrenton Marina was the agency’s first major project. The five city commissioners currently serve as the War- renton Urban Renewal Agen- cy, which has the final say on spending decisions. Any grant program that would help residents clean up their properties must in- clude a buy-in from the res- ident, agency member Rick Newton told Engbretson. “When anything is free, people don’t value it,” New- ton said. “I don’t favor a (100 percent) grant. Even if they pay just 20 percent so they’ve always got some skin in the game.” Member Henry Balen- sifer agreed, saying he also wouldn’t support making the funds available to those who already have had their properties declared nui- sances. Balensifer asked Eng- bretson to put the grant program on a fast track “so it doesn’t go into effect at the end of summer.” Blight: 10 properties targeted for improvements Continued from Page 1 the city takes against problem properties, be- ginning with placing a yel- low tag, then conducting an inspection, conducting a second inspection, giving property owners notice they must remove the nuisance or more action will be taken, City Commission declara- tion of a nuisance, post- ing of the nuisance, final inspection, city cleanup/ lien. Reading program kicks off at Warrenton library “Libraries Rock,” Warren- ton Community Library’s summer reading program, is under way. A kick-off party was held Saturday and sign-ups will be taken through June 30. To help, contact the library 503-861-8268. Teens who sign up by this week and complete the entire summer will receive a letter of com- munity service for their col- lege file and an extra entry into the grand prize drawing at the end of summer. • Wednesdays: Crafts Day • Saturdays: Saturday Sto- ries at 11 a.m., with members of the community reading stories about their profes- sions, and Read-to-a-Dog on the first Saturday of each month. • June 21: Performer Okaida will do “dancing feet/ talking drum” at 3 p.m. Readers receive gifts throughout the summer, de- pending on what they com- plete. At the end of summer, prizes will be awarded for reading achievements. Public Safety Calls Continued from Page 2 • Pickup leaking fuel, 8:37 p.m. June 7, 1800 block Southeast Ensign Lane. m ediCal Calls • Male with ankle injury, 9:13 a.m. June 4, 0-100 block South- west Birch Court. • Female with diabetic issue, 12:23 p.m. June 5, 1800 block Southeast Ensign Lane. • Male with fainting episode, 1:53 p.m. June 5, VA Clinic Camp Rilea. • Male with an infection, 10:28 a.m. June 6, VA Clinic Camp Rilea. • Male who fell in street, 12:14 a.m. June 7, 33200 block Sunset Beach Lane. • Male who fell last night, 12:35 p.m. June 7, Northwest Senior and Disability Services. • Male with swollen hand, 4:03 a.m. June 8, 1900 block South Main Avenue. • Male with neck injury, 3:34 p.m. June 9, 1600 block South- east Ensign Lane. • Male with weakness, 5:42 p.m. June 9, 700 block Southwest Juniper Avenue. • Female having seizures, 10:53 p.m. June 9, 1600 block South- east Dolphin Avenue. • Female sleeping in pickup, 3:54 a.m. June 10, 1800 block South- east Ensign Lane. • Female with chest pain, 10:40 p.m. June 10, 2200 block South- east Dolphin Avenue. 3 Red Cross offers smoke-alarms Red Cross members will be providing free smoke alarms and installing them in Sea- side this weekend for people who signed up. The Home Fire Campaign is taking sign-ups for Warren- ton residents. Each year, the Red Cross re- sponds to nearly 64,000 di- sasters, the majority of them home fires, according to the agency, which set a goal of reducing fire-related deaths and injuries in the United States by 25 percent. “A working smoke alarm doubles your chances of get- ting out alive,” said Jenny Carver, the Red Cross’ disas- ter program manager for the North Coast. “We’re trying to raise awareness about the program.” To sign up for a free smoke alarm installation, call 503- 528-5783 or email prepared- ness@redcross.org. A local volunteer will con- tact those who sign up and set a time for the installation. “They’ll bring all the smoke alarms and installation equipment as well as home fire safety information,” Carver said. “It takes 20 to 30 minutes at most.” NW Natural customers will see a credit on their June bill. The return of $11.6 million is a result of the efficiencies of natural gas pipelines and un- derground storage, the utility wrote in a media release. Similar to credits issued in 2017, the average residential customer will receive a cred- it of about $12. The average small commercial customer can expect to see a June bill credit of about $52. “Our teams put in so much work behind-the-scenes to make sure we’re efficiently using our pipelines and gas storage,” said David H. An- derson, NW Natural presi- dent. “This year’s bill credits are proof of that effort.” Credits are based upon pipeline capacity manage- ment and use of the compa- ny’s underground natural gas storage facility at Mist in Co- lumbia County. NW Natural customers to see credits Subscribe Good journalism never goes out of style. Stay smart. Read the paper. A full-year subscription to The Columbia Press is just $26 by mail to Clatsop County addresses. 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