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.