6A • February 10, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Cannon Beach public
works director to leave
Dan Grassick
credited with
upgrades, parks
master plan
Cannon Beach
police chief,
officers receive
commendations
By R.J. Marx
Cannon Beach Gazette
Dan Grassick, the city’s
public works director since
2013, will be leaving Cannon
Beach to spend time with his
family. The public works di-
rector supervises the work of
13 employees and manages
an average annual operations
budget of $5 million and an
average capital budget of
$500,000.
“The expertise you had
with that guy was amazing —
you almost never find it in a
town of this size,” City Man-
ager Brant Kucera said.
Because of vacation time
accrued, Grassick plans an
April 28 departure.
“My life priorities shift-
ed recently and I realized I
need to focus on my wife and
grandkids while I am still able
and healthy,” Grassick said.
“I have enjoyed my time here
with the entire management
team and especially the pub-
lic works staff. These are very
dedicated and passionate staff
who take pride in the work
they do every day for the citi-
zens, as well as environmental
sustainability.”
maintain our streets, as well
as to look to maintain the un-
paved streets,” Kucera said.
The city’s RV Resort wit-
nessed a “huge upgrade” un-
der Grassick’s supervision,
bringing in electrical, water
and sewer to the area east of
U.S. Highway 101, Kucera
said. “That property has gone
seamlessly. It really positions
us in the future for the kind of
experience campers are look-
ing for.”
Grassick said, “Every
week seems to bring a new
topic for discussion and po-
tential problem solving. The
community involvement has
been interesting and empha-
sizes the importance of both
written and verbal communi-
cation to a very diverse audi-
ence with wide ranging per-
spectives on all issues.”
Nationwide search
The qualifications
Grassick was hired in 2013
after a nationally advertised
search that drew 35 appli-
cants. With the U.S. Air Force
for 29 years, both active duty
and reserve, he worked in an
engineering capacity as an in-
structor, liaisons officer and
commander before acquiring
municipal works experience
in Albany and Lebanon.
Kucera credited Grassick
with water, wastewater and
parks master plan develop-
ment during his nearly four
years in Cannon Beach.
“The other thing, too, that
I’m really proud with Dan is
the street-overlay program,
where he’s tried to routinely
The position is advertised
at a salary range of $73,000 to
$88,000.
According to the advertise-
ment posted on the city’s web-
site and published nationally,
the director plans, organiz-
es, integrates and directs the
programs and maintenance
functions of the Public Works
Department including water
treatment and distribution sys-
tem, roads and streets, waste-
water treatment plant and
wastewater collection system,
stormwater, recycling, and
parks and all facilities.
“I’m looking for someone
who has really strong person-
nel experience,” Kucera said.
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
By R.J. Marx
Dan Grassick is leaving
his post in April after be-
ing Cannon Beach’s public
works director since 2013.
Cannon Beach Gazette
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE/FILE PHOTO
Dan Grassick, left, at a 2013 tabletop exercise.
‘The expertise you had with that
guy was amazing — you almost
never find it in a town of this size.’
Brant Kucera
city manager
“We have a wide array of
workers in public works, from
very experienced to brand
new.”
Candidates experienced in
budgeting, managing bid pro-
cesses, project management
and the performance of con-
tractors are sought.
“While this is not a typical
engineering project design
and construction position, the
opportunities for working on
standard fare such as water
lines, sewer lines, streets and
treatment plant operations
are there, as well as all the
subtle community issues that
come with being a very pop-
ular tourist destination com-
munity,” Grassick said. “It’s
a continuous education and
learning environment that en-
sures you stay energized and
engaged every day.”
All applications and re-
sumes must be received at
Cannon Beach City Hall by
Feb. 28.
“Dan really brought a lot
to the table,” Kucera said.
“One person doesn’t make
an organization, but Dan was
a very important part of Can-
non Beach. He’s a great guy
to work with. I felt like he’s a
friend. It’s going to be hard to
replace him.”
Short-term rental rules made simple(r)
Rentals from Page 1A
Barnes said. “It grows every
month. It grows faster than
our housing at this point.”
He said the number of
14-day permits increases by
about four per month.
Short-term rental homes
make up “roughly 10 percent”
of the city’s housing stock,
Barnes said.
Commissioners leaned to
recommending the changes,
Local officers
honored for
response after
Goodding death
but opted to keep the meeting
open to provide more public
comment.
“I think given how poten-
tially explosive this could be
— this whole process started
in the ’90s —I’d feel more
comfortable if there were
more people complaining
about this,” Commissioner
Joe Bernt said.
The City Council will con-
sider the new terminology at
their March meeting.
R.J. MARX/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
Members of the Planning Commission Janet Patrick, Rob-
in Risley, Joe Bernt, Bob Lundy and Hank Johnson. Along
with commissioners Lisa Kerr and Charles Bennett, they
voted to keep comment open on a short-term rental rec-
ommendation.
Chief Jason Schermerhorn
and Cannon Beach Police of-
ficers were among those hon-
ored at a ceremony for first
responders Monday, Feb. 6,
at the Seaside Civic and Con-
vention Center.
Schermerhorn, a former
Seaside police officer, was
among the hundreds of first
responders who attended a
private memorial for Good-
ding, who was shot and killed
in the line of duty trying to
apprehend Phillip Max Ferry
on a felony warrant one year
ago.
Goodding’s death brought
an outpouring of support from
the community and emer-
gency responders around the
nation, including members
of the Cannon Beach Police,
who assisted Seaside Police
in the aftermath.
Schermerhorn and officers
were honored for their “val-
ued contribution after the loss
of our beloved officer,” Sea-
side Police Chief Dave Ham
said Wednesday.
Cannon Beach Police also
receiving
commendations
were Lt. Chris Wilbur, Of-
ficer Josh Gregory, Officer
Seth Collins and Cpl. Joseph
Bowman.
At Tuesday’s City Council
meeting, Wilbur received spe-
cial recognition for his work
as the liaison to work with
agents from the Bureau of Al-
cohol, Tobacco and Firearms
to track down the handgun
Police Chief Jason Scher-
merhorn and other offi-
cers were honored earlier
this week for their service
in the aftermath of the
shooting death of Sgt. Ja-
son Goodding.
used to kill
Goodding.
As a result of
that investi-
gation, Jamie
Jones of Sea-
side plead-
ed guilty to
Jason
p o s s e s s i o n Goodding
with intent to
distribute methamphetamine
and possession of a firearm in
furtherance of a drug traffick-
ing crime. Jones’s sentencing
is set for March 27.
On Wednesday, Seaside’s
chief thanked Schermerhorn
for his “continuing support,
not only to the Seaside Police
Department, but the Good-
ding family,” Ham said. “He
and his wife have both been
tremendous liaison and sup-
port and friends of the family.
I know Amy (Goodding) is
appreciative of that, as we are
at the department.”
“We were honored to help
them and we’d certainly do
anything to help them in the
future,” Schermerhorn said.
“It was a pretty dark time for
all of us. I was proud of the
community and all the sup-
port we got from the different
agencies.”
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Academy locks in site
Academy from Page 1A
He said it was the same
request with some slight
modifications to the floor
plan. “Everything signifi-
cant about the last request
is contained in this re-
quest.”
Commissioners unan-
imously approved the re-
newal of the permit.
“Today we overcame
another hurdle,” Barb
Knop, the school treasurer,
said after the meeting. “It’s
going really well.”
“There’s a director, two
teachers and two instruc-
tional assistants,” she said.
“We have a contract which
the lawyers are looking at,
when we sign that, we’ll be
in very good shape.”
The academy intends to
start enrollment in March.
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