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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2016)
January 15, 2016 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A Community members support Balzer, ask board to step down there is no need for you, the board.” In a letter addressed to Balzer, retired Cannon Beach Fire Marshal Mike *raham wrote “A ¿re chief must have the full trust of his or her ¿re¿ghters, and I feel you have achieved that trust. I remain in total support of you, and hope the board of directors will reconsider their action.” Public confusion and emo- tions were further inÀamed as the board’s explanations for Balzer’s ¿ring were not readily forthcoming. Last month a public re- cords request by the Ga- zette revealed that Balzer’s ¿ring, according to board member Garry Smith, was “strictly business, not per- sonal.” Particularly, the board took issue with Bal- Recall from Page 1A department,” the letter con- tinues. “It would be best Ior the ¿re department and community if certain board members would resign from the board before it be- comes a recall situation.” Ten more current and former volunteers shared their concerns in personal- ized letters. “During every call I have ever been on or with Mike (Balzer), his leadership, knowledge and skills were top notch,” wrote volunteer ¿re¿ghter Trevor Mount. After explaining the shock of the ¿ring, Mount asked, “Why did you not share with us the board’s concerns? Because let’s be really clear here.... With- out volunteer ¿re¿ghters, zer’s perceived clerical and administrative shortcom- ings. Many community mem- bers remain unsatis¿ed by that rationale, as evidenced in the 22 letters Neuwirth collected from local resi- dents. “I doubt that the alleged lack of administrative skill was suf¿cient to merit ter- mination,” wrote Cannon Beach resident Eric Reiter, a retired Portland Police Bureau sergeant. “Until the board can demonstrate that it was, Chief Balzer should be reinstated.” In a three-page letter, former board President Al- fred A. Aya Jr. detailed a tenuous working relation- ship between the Balzer and the board. Aya wrote that members of the board were ANDREW R. TONRY PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Susan Neuwirth is seeking changes on the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection Board. engaged in “determined micro management,” which he deemed an overreach. the sole reason. As I’ve ob- served the meetings, they are so unprofessionally run.” Board members subject to Neuwirth’s recall, Clyde, Beck-Sweeney and Smith, declined requests to com- ment on the petition. After registering the re- call with Clatsop County, Neuwirth is currently col- lecting signatures. She said she needs to get a minimum of 125, and 150 to be safe, and believes she will gather them with ease. Should she succeed the board members will need to decide whether to contest or resign. “This isn’t something I enjoy doing,” Neuwirth said. “I don’t like going up against people who are do- nating time and effort to the community. But it’s time for new leadership.” “In my opinion, from what I’ve observed, those three directors cannot keep themselves from intensive- ly µmanaging’ the ¿re chief and his responsibilities,” Aya wrote. “Seeing no way to correct this effectively, I resigned from the board where I’d served as vice president for 12 years and president for 18.” Upstairs at the ¿rehouse, where the board meets, Neuwirth made reference to a plaque titled: “Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue: Our Values.” She pointed to one line in particular. It reads: “Open communications at all levels.” “The board isn’t operat- ing with that kind of trans- parency,” Neuwirth said. “Mike Balzer was the im- petus of this, but he is not Storm damage repairs may impact planned improvements Good year for parks Storm from Page 1A “The plan was to im- prove the trail anyway, but this will certainly change the scope of that work,” said Rippee, who is no lon- ger sure that the money set aside for the project will cover the cost. The good news is the parking lot and restroom facilities are still open to the public. The parks department suggests gaining alternative beach access at nearby Hug Point or Tolovana recreation sites. Other state parks and rec- reation sites that comprise the 10,000-acre Nehalem Bay Management Unit, aside from Arcadia and Ecola, have, so far, fared better this winter. They in- clude Nehalem Bay and Oswald West state parks; Saddle Mountain State Nat- ural Area; and Manhattan Beach, Hug Point and Tolo- vana Beach recreation sites. “In terms of landslides, it’s mostly Ecola that expe- riences them,” Rippee said. “It seems not a year goes by that repairs are needed. It’s a very active area.” As for the rest of 2015, it was a good year for the state parks’ system. Early numbers indicate visitation throughout the state was up nearly 25 percent from the year before. Rippee is keeping his ¿ngers crossed that the worst weath- er this winter is over and that he and his staff can once again concentrate on “routine” park maintenance in anticipation of the 2016 season. As for the stormy and wet November weekend that closed Indian Beach Road at Ecola State Park and beach access at Arcadia Beach State Recreation Site, Rippee sums it up in just ¿ve words: “That was quite a weekend.” SUBMITTED PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE The viewing platform at Ecola Point sat precariously close to the landslide caused by torrential downpours in mid November. SUBMITTED PHOTO/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE. The beach access trail at Arcadia Beach State Recreation Site suffered major damage as a result of mid-November stormy weather. History of landslides To prove his point, Rip- pee accessed Google Earth on his computer and zeroed in on Ecola State Park. A closeup image shows tell- tale signs of landslides that have occurred previously. Trails over the years have had to be rerouted as well. If El Niño simmers down, as forecasted for the ear- Coastal Advantage 503.436.1777 Coastal Advantage.com ly part of this year, Rippee said he is con¿dent repairs at Ecola and Arcadia will be completed by May. He is quick to point out, however, “that’s a best-case scenario.” As far as a dollar amount for the work, it is too early to tell until Parks and Rec- reation solicits bids, some- thing that will occur in the next few weeks. Compli- cating matters in repairing the culvert and washed out road at Ecola is the issue of ¿sh passage in Canyon Creek. Engineers have yet to determine whether or not to replace the existing culvert with a larger one or construct a bridge over the creek. Once the bidding process has been complet- ed and the storm season has passed work will com- mence. 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