The Columbia Press
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Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly
www.thecolumbiapress.com
Public rallies
causing city
headaches
August 14, 2020
Vol. 4, Issue 33
Affordable housing project wins state funding
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
See ‘Rallies’ on Page 4
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The city wants to get a handle on
public demonstrations after sever-
al recent political rallies last month
posed health and safety hazards.
“During recent events in Warren-
ton, a group of people set up a barbe-
cue grill and a table in a designated
parking space across from City Hall
on Second Street,” Police Chief Matt
Workman wrote in a report on the
City Commission agenda. “A week
later, the same group set up a gas
barbecue during a ‘flag-wave’ event
in Warrenton Memorial Plaza park.”
The “Back the Blue” barbecue was
supposed to support police and other
first responders, yet a couple of the
organizers became argumentative
when an officer told them they had
to pack up because the street event
created a hazard. The group also
had no food-service permit from the
county Public Health Department,
a requirement when serving food to
the public.
“The city’s not granting any event
permits because of the restrictions
of COVID-19,” Workman told com-
missioners. “I find it ironic that, at
a ‘Back the Blue’ event, one of them
got mad at one of my officers.”
The place where the group had set
up was near a “tough alley and a
tough corner” for vehicles to negoti-
ate, Workman said.
The silver lining, he said, is that
the minor altercation forced him to
pour through city ordinances. And
he found many holes that need to be
tightened.
“I don’t want to do anything polit-
ical on any city piece of property,”
Commissioner Rick Newton said.
Trillium House will be a
four-story 42-unit af-
fordable housing project
near Home Depot. It is
within an easy walk to
worksites, transportation
and shopping.
Drawings courtesy
Emmons Design
Go
odw
A 42-unit housing project in Warren-
ton, designed to bolster the lack of af-
fordable housing for Clatsop County’s
working families, has won more than $4
million in federal and state grants and
tax credits.
Trillium House will be in Chelsea Gar-
dens, the city’s newest development
area and one of the last developable
properties along Highway 101 within
city limits.
“Nothing was going to happen over
in this whole entire area until someone
made a leap of faith,” said Ken Yuill, a
large property owner who rallied neigh-
boring property owners to join forces in
development of a unified plan. “If this
catches on, maybe the next street over
will do something.”
As infrastructure – water and sewer
lines, etc. – is laid for Trillium House,
construction of other projects will be
more affordable.
“This is going to affect a lot of people’s
lives,” Yuill said.
This week, Oregon Housing and Com-
munity Services awarded $60.8 million
in grants and tax credits throughout the
state. Usually, “the North Coast doesn’t
See ‘Trillium’ on Page 4
ill
Warrenton working to make routes to schools safer
The Columbia Press
Students will be safer as they head to
Warrenton Grade School should the
city win a Safe Routes to School grant.
A request for the $400,000 grant
from Oregon Department of Trans-
portation would improve sidewalks
and make other improvements in and
around the intersection of South Main
Avenue and Ninth Street.
Initially, the city had hoped the grant
would fund a sidewalk project on
Main Avenue from Ninth Street to the
High School. But, while working with
its consultant on the project, OTAK, it
was determined to be too big and less
likely to qualify than the grade school
access project, Public Works Director
Collin Stelzig told city commissioners
Tuesday night.
“That’s why this has been changed
significantly,” Stelzig said. “Eventu-
ally, it will make its way to the high
school.”
The Safe Routes to School program
will award $26 million statewide after
considering requests, which are due
Aug. 31. The city would have to kick in
some money for the project, estimated
to cost half a million dollars.
Eligibility for the grant includes that
the project must:
• Be within the public right of way
of a state highway, Highway 104 in
this case, which is called Main Avenue
through town.
• Be within a mile of a school. Both
Warrenton Grade School and Warren-
ton High School are within a mile of
the intersection.
• Reduce barriers and hazards for
See ‘Routes’ on Page 6