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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (May 8, 2020)
May 8, 2020 T he C olumbia P ress 4 Peninsula: Port leaders say it’s the wrong time to develop Continued from Page 1 by in the next few years be- cause of the coronavirus’ ef- fects on the economy, Spence said. “Put this in the back of your mind and we’ll address it when we get back to the new normal,” he told fellow com- missioners. It was a bit disappointing for Warrenton Mayor Hen- ry Balensifer, who’d recom- mended the port reconsider the subcommittee’s recom- mendations. “I understand the port’s desire to not go for grants when that often requires at least some match amount, and funds are critically low for normal operations,” he said. “Nevertheless, the Air- port Committee and city of Warrenton are all available to discuss or assist with broad-strokes planning on a successful future for the port properties in Warren- ton.” Among the recommenda- tions of subcommittee mem- bers: • Build a ministorage facil- ity made of temporary con- tainers at Airport Business Park that could raise money during the next decade to pay for making the site shov- el-ready for a future perma- nent commercial or industri- Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press Barricades were placed on the access road to the east side of the Skipanon Peninsula after vandalism and vagrancy became a problem there a few years ago. al tenant. • Partner with the city of Warrenton on a watersports park on Skipanon Peninsula. There’s already a plan for the park approved by the city in the late 1990s. Because the plan never came to fruition, a grow- ing recreational wind- and kite-surfing industry blos- somed in Hood River. How- ever, Hood River has become saturated and this type of outdoor recreation has huge potential in Warrenton. Tent camping could go in the middle of the peninsu- la, leaving the park more at- tractive and cost-effective for wind-surfers and discourag- AGENDA CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WARRENTON MEETING TUESDAY May 12, 2020 – 6:00 P.M. Warrenton City Commission Chambers – 225 South Main Avenue Warrenton, OR 97146 This is a Preliminary Agenda. A final Agenda and full meeting packet will be available on the City’s website at www.ci.warrenton.or.us and at City Hall after 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2020. • • BUSINESS ITEMS Consideration of Resolution No. 2562; Library Services Fees and Fines Consideration of Budget Committee Appointment – David Burkhart Warrenton City Hall is accessible to the disabled. An interpreter for the hearing impaired may be requested under the terms of ORS 192.630 by contacting Dawne Shaw, City Recorder, at 503-861-0823 at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting so appropriate assistance can be provid- ed. ing RVs, which require more infrastructure. • Develop a food cart pod off King Street at Harbor Drive. “This is seen as a pos- itive amenity to the surfers’ camp,” wrote committee members. “(It) can build a business’s name enough to someday build a bricks-and- mortar restaurant.” • Consolidate port proper- ties within Warrenton and spin them off into a new gov- ernment entity, such as an airport authority. “The subcommittee feels the port should not try to hold on to that which it cannot rea- sonably maintain,” the group wrote, recognizing that the port often has deferred main- tenance in the past on wa- terfront projects to ensure it had enough money to match grants approved for airport projects. The group’s ideas initially were submitted to port com- missioners a year ago and no action was taken then. Balensifer, who serves on the Airport Advisory Com- mittee and wrote the report for port commissioners, re- submitted a follow-up memo last month. Causeway to get some preliminary repairs The Columbia Press Port of Astoria commission- ers approved a plan Tuesday afternoon to start improve- ments on the East Mooring Basin causeway. The port will repair the first 200 feet of the causeway, re- placing untreated and deteri- orating wooden pilings with structural plastic designed for the water. The initial $121,700 repair plan wasn’t in the current budget, but the port wasn’t able to do some comparably priced dredging work this year. “We need to do this so we can get this back open for the fishermen,” port Operations Manager Matt McGrath said. “Obviously, we can’t do all the repairs at one time, but we can put whatever we can into it right now.” Next year, the port will go after three grants to repair the rest of the causeway, he said. “We’ve got a pret- ty good chance of getting An aerial photo of the East Mooring Basin causeway. (them) based on need and the fact this supports local fisher- men.” About 850 feet of the cause- way needs repairs to make it usable, a several-year project. Several commissioners worried about doing repairs piecemeal and Scott Mc- Claine initially asked to ab- stain from the vote. After prodding by Chairman Dirk Rohne, McClaine was the sole no vote. “I think we owe it to the fishermen to go ahead and move on it, but I have some trepidation as well,” Commis- sioner Robert Stevens said. Executive Director Will Isom called it a “huge step in the right direction. (It) would be a huge deal for the port to get this causeway open.” The port closed all access to the causeway in late 2018 after a maintenance crew dis- covered a severely rotting substructure. The causeway is used by commercial fishermen to reach their boats. The closure has meant a loss of income to the port in rental fees.
