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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2018)
6A • July 13, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com Steidel, Risley plan to run for Cannon Beach posts By Brenna Visser Cannon Beach Gazette Longtime resident and real estate agent Robin Risley has announced her intention to run for the Cannon Beach City Council. Risley intends to vie for the seat held by City Councilor George Vet- ter, who announced earlier this year he will not seek re-election. Mayor Sam Steidel also an- nounced his re-election campaign at the Tuesday, July 3, City Council meeting. Over the course of three decades, Risley has served on several boards and committees, including the Cannon Beach and Clatsop Robin Risley County plan- ning commissions, the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Commission and Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce board. She was also ap- pointed the president of the Clatsop Association of Realtors last year. Her decision is largely driven by timing, as she will be ending terms as a planning commissioner and chamber board member this year. “I love Cannon Beach, and I want to be a part of the decision-making,” Risley said. If elected, Risley would work on finding solutions for the Cannon Beach Elementary School property, rebuilding City Hall and other capi- tal projects on the city’s plate. Priori- ties for Risley are bolstering the arts, as well as preserving the character of Officials plan to reinstate testing of water outfalls Water from Page 1A The cause for the spike is unknown. The city is in con- tact with the state Department of Environmental Quality and is conducting additional in-house tests to identify the problem, City Manager Bruce St. Denis said. “This has been an ongoing situation that has resulted in extensive testing (including DNA testing) and research in the past,” St. Denis wrote in an email. “Numerous proj- ects have been undertaken to address isolated contributing sources but the overall situa- tion keeps reoccurring. This is common for municipal beach outfalls.” In response, the city plans to reinstate routine testing of all outfalls, including testing loca- tions further upstream of the outfalls than have been done in the past to try to drill down on where contamination is being picked up, St. Denis said. The city will also be scheduling tests the day before predict- ed rainfall and day after since spikes seem to occur near large rain events. DEQ has agreed to review the data after it has been collected, St. Denis said. Cannon Beach has a histo- ry of high bacteria test results, especially after rain washes waterways out and during the height of tourism season when public infrastructure is heavily used. In July 2015, a sewage leak led to a spike in bacteria readings in the Ecola Creek watershed. In general, sources of con- tamination to surface waters include wastewater treatment plants, septic systems, domes- tic and wild animal manure, and storm runoff, according BRENNA VISSER/CANNON BEACH GAZETTE Beachgoers cross a bridge over the Ecola Court outfall in Cannon Beach. Recent samples shows bacteria levels higher than state standards at this location. to the EPA. Ingesting bacteria contaminated water can result in illness, according to the Or- egon Health Authority. While the federal BEACH Act allows the monitoring program to issue health advi- sories for readings that exceed the limit in marine waters, there is no equivalent require- ment for freshwater sources. Mike Manzulli, of the Eco- la Creek Watershed Council, said the process is “flawed” and that the state should rem- edy the way findings are no- ticed. “The streams from these outfalls are where the chil- dren on the beach play and where the dogs drink. Chil- dren have most likely gotten sick from these waters in the past and will continue to un- til the problem is remedied,” Manzulli wrote in an email. “Tourists don’t know their children and pets are playing in contaminated water. Until the source of contamination is fixed, families visiting our beach deserve a proper warn- ing to avoid this water.” St. Denis said the city is working with the Department of Environmental Quality for guidance on proper signage to advise beach goers. “This is a very complicat- ed issue and is a top priority for staff at this time,” St. De- nis said. Cannon Beach’s Best Selection of Oregon and Washington Wine! 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Most of these issues have been stalled during his first term, but Steidel hopes a fresh staff at City Hall and the benefit of council con- tinuity will lead to progress. “You have to keep discussions going to get to our goals,” he said. There are three council positions on the ballot in November, including Steidel’s seat. City Councilor Mike Benefield has not indicated whether he plans to run again. City Council seeks a focus on arts Tourism from Page 1A The controversy points to a larger disagreement within the city and the commission about the evolving purpose of the grant money. Since 2008, the Tourism and Arts Commission has been charged with review- ing grant applications and regulating the distribution of the Tourism and Arts Fund, which was established with an increase in the lodging tax. Local nonprofits are to use the money to promote tourism activities that encourage peo- ple to rent rooms in Cannon Beach, with an extra emphasis on supporting the arts. But some grant applicants have shifted away from this focus, with recent awards going to support new events like the Fat Bike Festival and promotional videos for the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce. “The whole reason this started was to focus on the arts,” said City Councilor Nancy McCarthy, who voted with Benefield and City Coun- cilor Brandon Ogilvie against the money for bike trails. Mayor Sam Steidel and City Councilor George Vetter vot- ed to defer to the commission. The Tourism and Arts Commission itself was split when evaluating the request from the trail alliance. Commissioners in favor saw the project as a year-round CLATSOP COUNTY Klootchy Creek County Park off U.S. Highway 26. benefit to the tourism industry, which is trying to attract more visitors with interests in out- door sports. “It’s an investment in the future. I liken it to surfing. Twenty years ago, you just saw a few surfboards on cars. Now they are everywhere, and we have multiple surf shops to support it,” Commission- er Greg Swedenborg said. “That’s where biking is go- ing.” Some voted against the grant request after former City Attorney Tammy Herdener raised legal questions about whether lodging tax dollars, which come with restrictions, could be used to finance the trail project. There was debate about whether the trail system qual- ified as a tourism facility, which is defined by the state as “real property that has a useful life of 10 or more years” and substantially supports tourism. The trail alliance and the pri- vate landowner have a five- year agreement, which could raise questions, Herdener said. Others took issue with the fact that the project had no ties with the arts and was not based in Cannon Beach. While Weintraub recog- nizes the arts emphasis of the grant money, he said nothing in the ordinance precludes other tourism-based propos- als from being considered. He pointed to the Fat Bike Festi- val he pitched last year, which was also met with skepticism, but turned out to be successful when it debuted in April. “This is a Tourism and Arts Fund, and the city’s di- rective is to give preference to arts,” Weintraub said. “But preference doesn’t mean to exclude.” Weintraub said he person- ally is in favor of expanding arts funding in Cannon Beach, but believes the city also needs to find ways to fund opportu- nities for “a broad array of vis- itor attractions.” The bike trail system near Klootchy Creek will still be built, Weintraub said, but per- haps not as quickly because of the loss of the grant money. If the city is not going to fund the trail project, then Weintraub wants city coun- cilors to use the $12,143 to improve trails and walkways in town. Five out of the top Ten Brokers in Sales volume in the Clatsop Multiple Listing Service in 2017 were Windermere Brokers. Put Windermere to work for you. 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