Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2017)
6A • October 6, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com For those wheelchair-bound, new program offers solution Program moves along in Cannon Beach Cannon Beach Gazette C Serving a need Manzanita, a town south of Cannon Beach, has had three beach wheelchairs available for use for more than 10 years. The outreach was provided by a local keeping community charac- ter by limiting expansion, developing the South Wind property, affordable housing and addressing emergency management and aging in- frastructure needs. Once finalists are chosen, city staff and Jensen Strat- egies will work on form- ing community and local government administrator panels to evaluate final- ists. City staff will choose representatives from the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce, the hospitality industry, arts community, environmental groups and other locals to offer input, interim City Manager Jason Schermerhorn said. “We want to include people who have key rela- tionships with the city from a variety of perspectives,” Schermerhorn said. “We want a variety of different points of view and interests. People in this town are so involved I think it will be easy to form a panel, and their voices will be helpful in finding a good city man- ager.” The other panel will be made up of three other city managers and one special district manager, Jensen said, though who exactly this will be has yet to be de- termined. Those interested in meet- ing the finalists are invited to a community forum Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. at city hall. Citizens will be able to ask questions and mingle with the finalists, and whatever discourse hap- pens in this forum will be considered when choosing a candidate. “It would be interesting to see how our candidates interact with the public. I think that’s important to see,” City Councilor Nancy McCarthy said. Finalists to be announced at Oct. 17 meeting By Brenna Visser annon Beach will soon join the small but growing number of communities on the Oregon Coast that offer beach accessible wheelchairs. It’s an idea that has been in the works for several years. The Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Haystack Rock Awareness Program joined forc- es to purchase the first beach accessible wheelchair, which are chairs with 4- to 5-inch-wide tires that ride on top of sand. The goal is to eventually have two wheelchairs at Tolovana State Park and two at the Gower Street beach entrances available to the public to check out for free. The city will follow Manzanita and Seaside as the third on the coast to pro- vide any type of beach wheelchair, and the second to provide them for free as a public service. Pooka Rice, the outreach coordinator for the Haystack Rock Awareness Pro- gram, said the group got involved earlier this year to help write grants and facili- tate a program. The group is at the center of many school field trips and education- al programs, and Rice said that she want- ed to make sure anyone who wanted to participate in these activities could have access. “There is a hugely underserved pop- ulation,” Rice said. “I am a caregiver for disabled people myself. It is so important this program exists so kids (with disabili- ties) can be included.” Travel Oregon Chairman Ryan Sny- der, who was part of the initial push two years ago, said after developing Can- non Beach’s program that he hopes to work with Travel Oregon to make beach wheelchair access a coastwide reality. “Today is Cannon Beach. But this is a topic I plan to bring up at the Travel Or- egon level. Regardless of mobility, you should be able to experience the Oregon Coast line.” List is narrowed in city’s search for a manager By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP While many Oregon beaches are not accessible to individuals using wheelchairs, communities like Seaside and Cannon Beach are making access easier. ken foot to grandma and grandpa can go to the beach.” Court Carrier, the executive director of the Cannon Beach Chamber of Com- merce, said the chamber frequently re- ceives requests for wheelchairs, as well. “We’re anxiously moving ahead on this,” he said. “It’s so important.” Making it happen COLIN MURPHEY/EO MEDIA GROUP Cannon Beach will soon join Man- zanita and Seaside as the only coastal communities to offer beach accessible wheelchairs. business before the owner retired and do- nated the wheelchairs to the city, which now operates the service from the Visi- tors Center. Dan Haag, the coordinator of the Visitors Center, said the center receives numerous calls and emails asking about beach wheelchairs. “If we had 100 chairs I don’t think it would be enough,” Haag said. The city, he said, plans to look into investing in one or two more chairs. He said having a city next door provide sim- ilar access will be invaluable. “I’m excited Cannon Beach is on board. I hope more city entities get at least one or two, because that makes a difference in a lot of lives,” Haag said. “It means everyone from kids with a bro- Passion for the wheelchair project has been around for years. Last year, the cham- ber and others in the community came to the City Council for support, Carrier said. The first wheelchair was purchased with donations from the chamber, Sny- der and other local contributors. But with each wheelchair costing about $2,500, significant fundraising from donations, grants and corporate sponsors will be needed to pay for three more chairs and the installation of the sheds where they will be stored, Rice said. The vision is to build code-protected storage sheds where wheelchair users can check out beach wheelchairs while safely storing their own, Rice said. Until mon- ey is raised for the sheds, however, us- ers will be able to check out wheelchairs starting in October from the Cannon Beach Police Department. “Our aging population affects a lot of us. People haven’t been as vocal as we need to be for those who are mobility im- paired,” Rice said. Cannon Beach is one step closer to finding a new city manager. The hiring process began after former city manager Brant Kucera left in June to take another city manag- er position in Sisters. Since then, city councilors and the recruitment firm, Jensen Strategies, have narrowed down the search to eight semi-finalists. The semi-finalists were funneled down from a pool of 29 applications, city attor- ney Tammy Herdener said. At this point, not much can be said about these can- didates for confidentiality purposes, other than the fact candidates applied from all over the country. City coun- cilors will be interviewing each candidate via video chat next week during two executive sessions. From there, the plan is to narrow the pool to three to five fi- nalists, whose names will be publicly announced at the Oct. 17 special meeting, Erik Jensen from Jensen Strategies said. So far, the process is run- ning on schedule, but will be nudging up against the city’s deadline to hire someone by the first week of Novem- ber. The city must select a preferred candidate by this time to avoid violating the city charter, which mandates an interim city manager can only serve for four months until the position is filled. The new city manager will be expected to facil- itate policy priorities like Arch Cape residents come out in force in opposition to RV plan RV Park from Page 1A Waggoner said people should expect a small RV park with about 35 spaces. The pre- liminary plan is to add walk- ing trails around the site and to preserve as many of the large trees as possible to add to the overall ambiance. Before almost any detail can be decided, Waggoner said a variety of geohazard, transportation and ecological studies will need to be con- ducted to complete a develop- ment permit. But some argued it doesn’t take a study to recognize how the narrowness of the highway will impact pedestrian safe- ty for people who will want to leave the RV park to visit Arcadia Beach. Many echoed concerns how deceleration and acceleration lanes, which would likely be required by the Oregon Department of Transportation, will not solve traffic buildup and blind spot issues from drivers trying to turn left into the park. Waggoner said once the development application is filed, ODOT would provide any necessary mitigation re- quirements for pedestrian safety. But residents like John Mersereau is not sure whatev- er is recommended would be enough. “Widening the highway is not going to help the danger,” Mersereau said. “I don’t see how ODOT can make this safe for pedestrians.” The environment Others were concerned with environmental issues, such as the fact the project would be squarely in Arch Cape’s watershed. Sharon Stern said residents would be vulnerable to any septic tank failures or other waste con- taminating the groundwater. Residents like Bob Turk, who has secondary water rights to a creek that runs Carrier to leave Nov. 20 Carrier from Page 1A In his time as executive director, Carrier helped estab- lish a contract with the city to invest lodging tax revenue for tourism-related market- ing support. He also played a large role in organizing cel- ebrations for the 50th anni- versary of the Oregon Beach Bill. Ryan Snyder, the Travel Oregon chairman and CEO of Martin North, met Carrier in 1997 when his wife was in one of Carrier’s hospitali- ty classes at Mt. Hood Com- munity College. Through that personal connection grew a professional one when he heard Carrier was chosen for the director position in 2014. “I was elated when he found out he was going to be executive director, so the emotional pendulum really swung when he told me he was stepping down,” Snyder said. “He’s a tremendous asset to the industry, and his knowl- edge in tourism has been in- valuable to the small town of Cannon Beach — more than people realize.” City Councilor George Vetter worked with Carrier when he served as a chamber board member, and said that Carrier’s high energy will be “hard to replace.” “Court has been a great as- set to the chamber and to the community. It’s through his energy and leadership that we are competing with other des- tinations throughout the coun- try and the state,” Vetter said. In Snyder’s view, what ce- mented Carrier’s legacy was his ability to get people to work toward a common mis- sion. “We shared a spirit of love for people and love for shar- ing experiences,” Snyder said. “He will truly be missed.” through both his property and Smejkal’s, also worry about what effect numerous campers could have on the neighbor- hood. “I worry people will be walking through that stream, dumping things into that stream,” Turk said. “It’s not just me. This affects every- body.” Arch Cape resident and environmental advocate Na- dia Gardner, along with many others at the fire hall, was also concerned how the project would affect the marbled mur- relet, a seabird that can only live in increasingly rare, old- growth coastal forests. The state Department of Forestry identified the property as ad- jacent to a marbled murrelet management area in 2009. Waggoner said many of these drainage and environ- mental concerns can be ad- dressed once more engineer- ing surveys are completed. Problems with procedure Questions about whether the developer has followed county planning rules were also raised. The county issued a cease- and-desist order in July after the Department of Forestry re- ported Smejkal was planning a logging operation on parcels without county approval, Ca- plinger said. Waggoner and Smejkal ar- gue they were cutting under- brush to allow surveyors to assess the land adequately to fulfill county requirements. “All we’re trying to do is try to look at the property,” Waggoner said. “We’re not go- ing in to pillage the land.” Oregon Coast Alliance president Mike Manzulli said between the lack of regard Dining on the for the planning process and questionable applications for tree removal, there is reason to question whether the devel- oper can be trusted to build the project responsibly. “Why would we trust you?” Manzulli said. Caplinger said part of what has made the property so com- plicated is its zoning. In most cases, private landowners would not need a permit to clear underbrush to conduct land surveys. But because the land is former park land and zoned recreational man- agement, the number of ac- ceptable uses is minimal and vague. “Going from preserva- tion to development always raises concerns,” Caplinger said. “The code is not clear on brushing on recreational management land. While it is feasible, it would be diffi- cult to fulfill our development requirements without a full survey. The question is if you need to do that much clearing to conduct these tests. At this point we don’t know.” Waggoner and Smejkal still need to complete a variety of surveys before submitting a development permit applica- tion. After that, a public hear- ing will be scheduled for com- munity input. Waggoner said he was not surprised by the public reac- tion, and that they intend to move forward with the project as permitting allows. Howev- er, Smejkal reiterated that he was open to selling the land, but had yet to see an offer. WE’LL SAVE YOU A BUNDLE AND QUITE A FEW LAYERS. North Coast Excellence in family dining found from a family that has been serving the North Coast for the past 52 years Great Great Great Homemade Breakfast, lunch and pasta, Clam but that’s dinner steaks & Chowder, not all... menu,too! seafood! Salads! Seaside • 323 Broadway • 738-7234 (Open 7 Days) Cannon Beach • 223 S. Hemlock 436-2851 (7am-3pm Daily) Astoria • 146 W. Bond • 325-3144 TO PLACE YOUR AD HERE! 25 ONLY $ per issue Seaside Office: 503-738-5561 Astoria Office: 503-325-3211 Another way we make you feel better. — RECEIVE UP TO — 1,600 $ IN REBATES* WITH THE PURCHASE OF A QUALIFYING LENNOX ® HOME COMFORT SYSTEM. Diamond Heating, Inc. 1425 N. Roosevelt Dr., Seaside, OR 97138 503-717-1667 www.DiamondHeating.net “Professional Performance with Lasting Value” Offer expires 11/17/2017. *On a qualifying system purchase. Lennox system rebate offers range from $200 to $1,600. Some restrictions apply. One offer available per qualifying purchase. See your local Lennox Dealer or www.lennox.com for details. ©2017 Lennox Industries Inc. Lennox Dealers are independently owned and operated businesses.