March 1, 2019
T he C olumbia P ress
Hotel owes city more than $100,000
The Columbia Press
Warrenton’s Shilo Inn owes
the city $126,000 in room tax
money collected by the hotel
from patrons who stayed there.
In letters dated Jan. 18 and
Feb. 15, City Attorney Spencer
Parsons demanded payment of
the taxes that were collected by
the hotel in the second half of
2018.
The letters are addressed to
Shilo’s corporate office in Port-
land, its management corpora-
tion, and the Warrenton hotel.
The city-imposed deadline to
prevent further legal action was
Feb. 22. But the fees still had
not been received by Tuesday
night.
The city intends to file a law-
suit, according to letters ob-
tained by The Columbia Press
through a public records re-
quest.
“Further, if payment is not re-
ceived, we have been directed
by the city to refer the matter
to the Clatsop County District
Attorney’s Office for potential
criminal proceedings,” the Feb.
15 letter states.
The Shilo Inn hadn’t respond-
ed to the city’s Jan. 18 letter,
which prompted the more seri-
ous stance.
“The city intends to compel
Shilo Inn to remit payment of
the tax revenues it has collected
from its guests on behalf of the
city as well as the accrued inter-
est and penalties,” according to
the Feb. 15 letter.
The lack of payment has been
the subject of two executive ses-
sions, which are held behind
closed doors.
The hotel fell behind in its
payment of the fees in 2016. The
account was eventually brought
current.
A Jan. 18 letter demanding
payment of transient room taxes
also was sent to South Jetty Inn
in Hammond, which owes the
city several thousand dollars.
It, too, failed to turn over the
tax money for the third and
fourth quarters of 2018.
Spur 104: City to pay for cohesive building plan
Continued from Page 1
much of the project’s traf-
fic would feed into the city’s
busiest intersection, Ensign
Lane at Highway 101.
Mayor Henry Balensifer,
the sole vote against the zone
change at the Feb. 12 meet-
ing, voted in favor Tuesday
after other commissioners
voiced a desire for a plan to
address the traffic and oth-
er aspects, such as a cohe-
sive plan for building design,
lighting, sidewalks and land-
scaping.
Lisa Lamping, who owns
property in the area, remind-
ed commissioners that she
and others paid for water and
sewer improvements that
benefited the entire town.
“It’s time these folks re-
alized their investments,”
Lamping said. City commis-
sioners “have the ability to
control how crazy that area
gets. … It’s not a blank check.
Have you ever known a gov-
ernment to be a blank check?
They’re always in the driver’s
seat.”
Ken Yuill, who serves on
the city’s Planning Com-
mission and owns about 20
percent of the project area,
said Wednesday that he
was somewhat perplexed by
the action.
“I understand where the
commission is on this issue,”
he said. “I just hope that the
property owners in Spur 104
will not just be trading one
restriction for another.”
The commercial mixed-use
zone is a great transition be-
tween the heavy commercial
uses on Ensign and residen-
tial neighborhoods farther
north and west, Yuill said.
“From the property owners’
perspective, this is another
delay before they get a return
on their investment,” said
Kevin Cronin, Warrenton’s
Community Development di-
rector.
“But we’re trying to create
a new, sustainable neighbor-
hood that will fit seamlessly
with what’s developed across
the street,” Cronin said.
“We’re looking at this from
a long-term perspective in-
stead of a short-term gain.”
Since the initial approv-
al on Feb. 12, several com-
missioners said they’d been
approached by concerned
residents or had given more
thought to the zone change.
“I’m a big property rights
person,” Commissioner Tom
Dyer said. “Then again, we
have a big traffic issue. … I
want them to be able to de-
velop. It’s terrible, but we
have to have some plan to
deal with the traffic.”
Some of the city’s codes
and policies have holes in
them and that’s how Wen-
dy’s got approved without an
adequate traffic plan, Mayor
Henry Balensifer said.
“We have an opportunity …
to get this one right,” he said.
“It’s our duty to take a look to
make sure it’s done right.”
Senior lunch menu
Monday, March 4: Thai shrimp, rice with peanut sauce, mixed
vegetables, turkey soup, chocolate cake.
Thursday, March 7: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy,
broccoli, navy bean soup, pumpkin pie.
The Warrenton senior lunch program is at noon (doors
open at 10:30 a.m.) Mondays and Thursdays at Warrenton
Community Center, 170 SW Third St. Suggested donation is
$6 for ages 55 and older; $7 for those younger. For more
information, call 503-861-3502.
7
Senior Moments
with Emma Edwards
All activity is good for the brain
I recently read an adver-
tisement from an extermina-
tor that reminded us “March
winds and April showers
bring May flowers and June
bugs.” I guess one could call
that nature’s definition of
synchronization.
That same bug company
says this is the reason: “Cold
air is sitting in the north
while warm air is coming in
from the south. When these
winds collide, things get
emotional, and March throws
a windy, gusty tantrum.” It
makes sense to me, but what
do I know?
In case you need a remind-
er, today (March 1) is Nation-
al Pig Day, which recognizes
and gives thanks for domes-
ticated pigs. Reportedly, pigs
are clever and intelligent an-
imals. But most people are
unaware of their high level of
intelligence.
They can be taught to do
tricks. Some people keep
them as pets. “This is a day to
give pigs the respect that they
deserve.” I’m not sure wheth-
er that means we should
boycott the local Pig’n Pan-
cake restaurants on this day
or honor the pigs by going
there?
Prime Rib doesn’t have pork
in it, does it?
Back to the weather. I think
many seniors are ready for
warmer days. I also think
we older people, when ques-
tioned, are more likely than
younger people to say we val-
ue our time. I, for one, am not
bored easily. We find things
to do!
I like to tell people that
I’m old enough to make my
own decisions, but not young
enough to remember what I
decided. Most seniors know
how to maintain good health,
which includes nutritious
food, exercise and being social.
I realize exercise is import-
ant, but I prefer to exercise
my brain. It’s not all about
walking or calisthenics.
Some of us enjoy crafts like
crocheting, knitting and nee-
dlework or painting, sculpt-
ing or taking pictures. Read-
ing is high on my list. Believe
it or not, all those activities
are said to improve health.
And even the over-80 age
group enjoys dancing.
Then there is gardening and
golfing. Both require bend-
ing, stretching and other mo-
tor skills.
It’s said that calmness
comes from both golfing and
gardening as they require
fresh air, sunshine and prob-
lem-solving. Knowing what
plant to put near another and
monitoring the weather is an
important gardening skill. In
golf, learning to position the
ball correctly uses the brain
and not just muscles. Golf
has an added social aspect
as does gardening (talking
with neighbors over the back
fence).
That reminds me, in look-
ing at special March dates,
I see that Ash Wednesday is
March 6 (Lent begins that
day) and another important
date is Sunday, March 10,
when Daylight Savings Time
begins.
On that day, we witness
another amazing synchroni-
zation of time pieces being
manually reset. Then there is
St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday,
March 17.
One more: Don’t forget that
Wednesday, March 20, is the
first day of spring.
Be encouraged and en-
couraging! And remember,
“Whether you think you can
or you think you can’t, you’re
right.” –Henry Ford