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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 2021)
The Columbia Press 1 50 ¢ Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly www.thecolumbiapress.com City devises its to-do list for next fiscal year Where the sidewalk ends Grant boosts city’s efforts to improve Main Avenue safety By Cindy Yingst The Columbia Press The sidewalk ends way too soon for students headed to Warrenton High School. In fact, any pedestrians making their way along southern portions of the city’s main drag will find little to protect them from the cars, trucks and recreational vehicles using the major thoroughfare. Yet teens headed to the high school, and younger children en route to Warrenton Grade School a block off Main Avenue contin- ue to put their safety at risk. And city leaders are saying enough is enough. On Tuesday night, city commissioners signed an agreement with Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation to receive a $400,000 Safe Routes to School grant for the first step of the journey – completion of sidewalks on the west side of Main Avenue between Eighth and 11th streets, which many students use to get to the grade school and the high school. “I’m a little surprised we got it, but really The Columbia Press A plan unveiled Tuesday for the city’s major purchases includes po- lice, fire and maintenance vehicles; trail and park improvements; water and sewer projects; road repairs and more. “It’s a living, mov- ing document,” City Manager Linda Engbretson said. “We’re trying to put in the anticipated capital improve- ment projects that we see over the next Engbretson six years so we can look at how we’re going to fund them. Sometimes, there’s work that doesn’t get done. Sometimes, we move proj- ects up or down on the list.” Warrenton’s 2022-2027 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) includes any future asset or improvement ex- pected to cost more than $5,000. Because the city has so many vehi- cles, for instance, money is set aside each year for replacements. But each city department must be specific about every requested project, vehi- cle or repair, listing what will be done or purchased and how much it’s ex- pected to cost. In a workshop meeting Tuesday, the city commissioners had their say about things that should be added, removed or reprioritized. Mayor Henry Balensifer suggest- ed adding a bulkhead fishing pier at Seafarer’s Park in Hammond, which he said would give Warrenton the only structure of its kind on the Ore- gon side of the Columbia River. He’d See ‘Projects’ on Page 4 Vol. 5, Issue 16 April 16, 2021 See ‘Sidewalks’ on Page 3 Top: A sidewalk on the north side of Warrenton High leads directly onto South Main Avenue. Left: A man rides his bike on South Main at 10th Street while a pickup and heavy truck pass. Cindy Yingst/The Columbia Press Affordable housing project’s site design approved The Columbia Press Designs for a 42-unit affordable housing project were unanimously approved by the Warrenton Planning Commission April 8 after a lengthy discussion of potential traffic prob- lems it could cause. The four-story building is slated to become the first major project in Chelsea Gardens, an area the city re- zoned for a mix of houses and com- merce on land along Highway 101 be- tween Home Depot and Ocean Crest Chevrolet. Trillium House would be owned by Northwest Oregon Housing Author- ity with one-, two-, and three-bed- room apartments rented below mar- ket rate to struggling families. “NOHA’s mission is to provide af- fordable and safe housing … to our area,” NOHA Chair Nina Reed told commissioners. “We are so happy to be here for you to review our plans. We know there are a few obstacles, but nothing we can’t overcome.” The project includes a secure lobby, on-site manager, community garden, laundry room, playground, commu- nity room, covered terrace, and se- cure bike-storage area. It’s expected to generate an estimat- ed 307 car trips per day, according to a transportation study by Lancaster Mobley, which was commissioned by Trillium’s builders after facing huge potential developer fees from the city. Many of the vehicle trips will feed See ‘Trillium’ on Page 5