The Columbia Press
Clatsop County’s Independent Weekly
www.thecolumbiapress.com
October 1, 2021
City refocuses on nuisance properties
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
Warrenton will again turn its attention
to nuisance properties following a hiatus
forced by COVID-19 and repeated staff
changes in the city’s Building and Plan-
ning Department.
A drive to clean up eyesores and unsafe
structures was initiated several years ago
by Brenda and Norm Hoxsey, founders
of the grassroots volunteer group Spruce
Up Warrenton.
On Tuesday, Norm Hoxsey brought a
list of properties and photos to the City
Commission meeting and asked leaders
to refocus on problem properties.
“Here are pictures of properties I’m
sure the majority of you are aware of,”
Hoxsey said.
Properties Spruce Up is watching are
primarily on the town’s main thorough-
fares, as Spruce Up’s mission is to revital-
ize downtown Warrenton and downtown
Hammond.
Commissioners each brought up their
own list of eyesores.
City Manager Linda Engbretson asked
for direction on the most problematic
properties since the enforcement process
is time-consuming and must follow prop-
er legal channels.
See ‘Nuisance’ on Page 4
State issues beach
health warning
A public health advisory was issued
Tuesday for unsafe levels of fecal
bacteria in ocean waters in Cannon
Beach and Tolovana State Park.
Visitors should avoid direct contact
with the water until the advisory is
lifted, Oregon Health Authority said.
Unsafe levels of fecal bacteria can
cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, skin
rashes, upper respiratory infections,
and other illnesses. Children, the elderly
and those with compromised immune
systems should use extra caution.
The Vitko building
on South Main
Avenue hasn’t
been in use since
the ‘60s. (Clatsop
Association of
Realtors)
Right: The Post
Office, an old
store and an old
house in down-
town Hammond
are surrounded
by storage boxes.
(Cindy Yingst)
Razor clamming reopens today in county
Razor clam harvesting reopens in
Clatsop County on Friday, Oct. 1, af-
ter a closure due to high levels of the
biotoxin domoic acid.
The opening was announced by
the Oregon Department of Agricul-
ture and the Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife.
Razor clamming already had
been open from Tillamook Head
(south of Seaside) to the California
border.
Recent shellfish samples tak-
en from the area indicate levels of
domoic acid have fallen below the
alert level.
Mussel, bay clam, and crab har-
vesting remains open along the en-
tire Oregon coast. Coastal scallops
are not affected by biotoxin closures
when only the adductor muscle is
eaten.
Paralytic shellfish toxin and do-
moic acid toxin are produced by al-
gae and originate in the ocean.
For more information, call ODA’s
shellfish biotoxin hotline at 800-
448-2474.
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Vol. 5, Issue 40
Food court
work continues
despite setback
By Cindy Yingst
The Columbia Press
Potential problems generating elec-
trical power have sparked concerns
about the progress of the downtown
food court project.
The city’s Urban Re-
newal Agency would need
to pay for a new trans-
former if more than eight
mobile food coaches are
allowed, Public Works
Director Collin Stelzig
told city commissioners, Stelzig
who were serving in the
role of the agency’s directors.
“Public Works has so far received
one estimate to complete the electrical
portion of the food cart pod design,”
he said in his report. “The estimate
was substantially higher than the esti-
mate provided by the landscape archi-
tect, which was $8,000.”
The food court is one of three current
projects being funded by Warrenton’s
Urban Renewal Agency. The agency is
funded by tax money gathered within
the urban renewal district, which in-
cludes all of downtown and Warren-
ton Marina; all money must be spent
improving areas within the district.
The district’s first 10 years mostly
were spent making improvements to
the marina. The city has until 2028 to
finish improvements before the mon-
ey runs out.
In addition to the food court, the
Urban Renewal Agency’s top projects
include placing utility poles under-
ground throughout downtown and
fixing Southwest Fourth Street as the
entryway to Warrenton’s Robinson
Community Park.
Improvements to downtown and
Fourth Street are estimated at $6.5
million, with at least $4.5 million re-
See ‘Urban renewal’ on Page 6