The Columbia Press
1
Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly
www.thecolumbiapress.com
Vol. 5, Issue 8
February 19, 2021
Innovators wanted
Couple opens ‘maker-
space’ with a twist
been halted until the port, which
owns the property, can solve the
leaky pipe problems.
The city of Warrenton’s water
treatment plant is nearing capacity.
And wastewater coming from the
airport has been substantial, with an
average of 13,000 gallons per day in
the summer to a whopping 150,000
gallons per day in the winter.
Clearly, rain has been seeping into
the system, forcing Warrenton’s
overtaxed plant to go into overdrive.
See ‘Airport’ on Page 6
See ‘Pod’ on Page 4
The Columbia Press
Have a grand idea but worried about the effort
or cost of seeing it to fruition?
Travis Rowland may have the solution.
He and his wife, Nina, have opened Vegabond
3D, a place where business ideas can be nurtured
and innovators can find tools to put plans in mo-
tion.
“My main mission here is to help people find
their passion,” he said, “and help people improve
their relationship with themselves through cre-
ativity.”
Starting a business is a huge barrier to creativi-
ty, Rowland said.
So he has brought in many of the Above: Travis and
tools an entrepreneur would need Nina Rowland are
and plans to rent them by the hour, hosting open hous-
es this month at
by barter and through membership
Vegabond 3D in the
sales. Vegabond 3D is in the Pre- Premarq Center.
marq Center.
Right: The couple’s
There are six 3D printers, sewing children use the
machines, vinyl cutters, virtual re- computers in the
ality gear, snap circuit equipment, computer lab.
cameras, painting materials, a fire
Cindy Yingst
Sewer fix should pave way for airport development
The Columbia Press
Big River Construction of Astoria
was awarded a contract Tuesday to
immediately begin replacing the
sewer system at Astoria-Warrenton
Regional Airport.
The replacement is essential for
the Port of Astoria to develop its in-
dustrial park adjacent to the airport,
and completing the job allows the in-
dustrial park’s first tenant, Scoular,
to build its seafood processing plant
there.
“We’re going to replace most of the
sewer infrastructure we have out at
the airport,” said Matt McGrath, dep-
uty director of the Port of Astoria.
Work includes building three
pump stations, adding three lines
to the city’s existing pump station
near Lektro, removing and replacing
pipes and asphalt, and filling or re-
moving old sewer structures.
Big River Construction was the
lowest of four bidders at $331,342,
just below the port engineer’s esti-
mate of probable cost.
All development at the airport has
Food truck pod
by City Hall
awaits design
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
The city has hired an award-win-
ning landscape architect to develop a
food truck pod that will be anything
but boring.
“The Food Pod project is a fun one,
and I hope that it brings a lot of en-
ergy to downtown Warrenton when
completed,” said Scott Hess, War-
renton’s Community Development
director.
Warrenton Urban Renewal Agen-
cy, an entity established in 2007 to
revitalize downtown using special
tax money, signed an agreement late
last year with GreenWorks, a Port-
land-based landscape architectur-
al firm. GreenWorks specializes in
spaces that incorporate nature into
urban environments.
The company will provide three
concepts for the site and an advisory
panel will select one or a combination
of two or all three plans.
City leaders want to see electrical
hookups, a covered seating area, pub-
lic picnic tables, adequate drainage
and a gray-water disposal site. The lot
could hold up to six food trucks.
The agency has set aside $100,000
for improvements to the lot and is
spending $20,000 on design.
Last month, the agency renewed its
agreement with Tres Bro’s, a truck
specializing in Nicaraguan food,
which has been on the lot since sum-
mer 2019. But the truck is using the
sole electrical hookup available there,
which has discouraged other trucks
from moving in, including Sasquatch
Sandwich, which backed out of its
rental agreement last year, and it
By Cindy Yingst
See ‘Innovators’ on Page 3
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