Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2018)
T he C olumbia P ress August 17, 2018 Data center proposed near Costco The Columbia Press A technology data center bringing 75 or more pro- fessional-wage jobs is pro- posed for the North Coast Business Park. County commissioners voted unanimously last week to sell a 67-acre parcel for $1.2 million to Agile De- sign LLC, a company found- ed by Mark Cox of Santa Barbara, Calif. His plans are for a three- phase business campus with a 100,000-square-foot data center, a conference center, technology incubator and research and development space. Cox has 60 days to investigate the property and arrange financing. Cox’s concept plans in- clude some housing. “It’s going to be a huge employer,” said Kevin Cro- nin, Warrenton’s Commu- nity Development director. “It will be like a mini-Goo- gle campus getting of next year, Cox plopped down in the told county com- middle of Clatsop missioners. County.” Why here? The property, in The property is an undeveloped affordable and Or- area behind Costco, egon is the nation’s is zoned for light leader in linking industrial, which undersea Inter- meshes well with net cables with the Agile’s plans, Cro- rest of the country. Cox nin told Warrenton There are 17 such ca- planning commissioners. bles off Oregon. Cox grew up in Astoria, “I’m passionate about attended Clatskanie High building win-win relation- School and graduated with a ships, exercising creativity bachelor’s degree in market- and focusing on goals,” Cox ing and finance from the Uni- writes in his profile on the versity of Oregon. professional website Linke- He co-founded one of the dIn. “I also love learning country’s first 200 nation- new things; I can dig into wide internet service provid- almost anything and learn ers in 1997, Global Frontiers quickly and easily.” Inc. And in 2004 founded Initial construction is esti- Web Hosting Pros, which mated at $200 million, ac- provides web hosting ser- cording to the county. vices. “It will be interesting to see The data center, which could how he puts together the fi- begin construction by the end nancing for it,” Cronin said. Early morning fire destroys garage on Date Avenue A garage full of items at 126 N.W. Date Ave. was de- stroyed by fire early Aug. 9. “Our crews did an excel- lent job and got a very quick knockdown that saved the home, all the outbuildings and vehicles clustered around the burning garage,” Warren- ton Fire Chief Tim Demers said. Disaster responders from the American Red Cross as- sisted two adults living at the home with temporary shelter, food and other services. The fire was reported at 1:30 a.m. in a detached garage. “The crews were able to get there and suppress it before it got to the home,” Demers said. “Fortunately, the home was the prescribed 10 feet away from the garage and we were able to defend it. This is a great example of why the fire department has setbck stan- dards that we vehemently en- force.” The was very full and re- quired firefighters to remain on scene to ensure the fire was completely out. 3 Bark fires plague fire agencies A multitude of bark fires have kept firefighters busy during the past month. Shoppers throwing cigarettes into planted areas at Walmart accounted for about a dozen of the fire calls. Other bark fires were reported at Safeway and the DMV in Astoria. Late last week, Hampton Affiliates called for help when one of the bark piles in the company’s lumber yard began smoking. “Walmart’s were all caused from poorly discarded ciga- rettes and compounded by the fact their bark is new and their watering system was damaged by an errant mo- torhome that didn’t see the (landscaped) island,” War- renton Fire Chief Tim Demers said. The fire at Hampton was not caused by cigarettes. Fresh bark compresses when put in piles and, if it gets wet before compression, begins to rot, Demers ex- plained. The piles build heat and can spontaneously com- bust. Grass clippings and oth- er organic material will do the same thing. “Compound that with some wind and it can fan up a sig- nificant fire,” Demers said. The fire department worked with Walmart to ensure there are no additional bark fires in the company’s planter box- es and there have been none since, he said. Seat open on county fair board Applicants are sought for an open seat on the Clatsop Country Fair Board. The position is for a term that expires Dec. 31, 2019. Applications are due by Aug. 31. The Fair Board is respon- sible for managing Clatsop County Fair & Expo and or- ganizes the annual Clatsop County Fair. It meets on the first Tuesday of each month. Applications can be found online and at the County Manager’s Office at 800 Ex- change St., Suite 410, Astoria.
