4A • August 24, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
Watching costs, assessing permit delay
I
n a region where generations
have venerated the spawning
salmon of Coho and China
creeks as they traveled to the
Neawanna River, salmon pro-
tection looms large in the $100
million campus building project
that has ballooned to more than
$123 million.
Caution flags are flying for
both the schedule and budget of
the new Seaside middle and high
school campus in the Seaside
School District 10’s project sum-
mary.
Scheduling changes for fall
and winter work, size reductions
in the campus and tough deci-
sions on building materials have
already been logged in the project
approved by voters in 2016.
Regulatory delays, along with
unforeseen impacts like weather
and the economy, could shape
a project that aims to have all
district students in their seats at the
new campus by September 2020.
R.J. MARX
View from the new campus site in early July.
Army Corps
A June timeline anticipated
permit approvals by July 18 from
the Department of State Lands
and Army Corps of Engineers.
The school district had proposed
a combination of stream enhance-
ment, wetland and swale creation
to meet regulatory concerns about
on-site waterways.
The Department of State Lands
signed off on the permit applica-
tion July 26.
The Army Corps has yet to do
so.
“The initial mitigation plan sub-
mitted by Seaside School District
didn’t adequately offset the im-
pacts to wetlands and streams that
their proposed construction would
incur,” said Army Corps’ Public
Affairs Specialist Jeffrey Henon
earlier this month. “We are waiting
for them to submit a revised mitiga-
tion plan that meets those impacts.
“We have been working with
quality people that just kind of
pushed (up) their sleeves and said,
‘OK, let’s figure it out another
way,’” Seaside School District Su-
perintendent Sheila Roley said.
While Army Corps’ approv-
al delay is not unusual, Project
Manager Jim Henry said its timing
could have the greatest impact.
In their latest submission, de-
livered in mid-August, the district
pivoted to “compensatory mitiga-
tion” — offering environmental
actions at other locations to offset
impacts to the original site.
School district consultant
Jack Dalton designed a trade-off
designating more wetland mitiga-
tion at school property along U.S.
Highway 101, Henry said.
The revised application calls
for a perimeter on district-owned
land behind the bus barn along
Neawanna Creek, into which
China Creek and Coho Creek both
flow.
“We’re in the same watershed,”
Henry said. “Now everything
seems to be running on the right
path.”
Budget caution
In November 2016, district
voters approved a bond of $99.7
million to build a new campus to
replace schools located in the tsu-
nami zone. That price tag original-
ly included professional services
and district expenses.
According to the July 2018
progress report, the total project
cost stands at more than $123
million.
Expenses for construction
alone totals almost $100 million.
Professional services and district
expenses comprise the remainder.
Construction for the middle
and high school building has been
adjusted from $43 million in 2016
to almost $59 million today.
The per-student cost, estimated
at $82,034 in 2016, is now above
$96,000.
‘Efficiencies’
Despite the increases, the bud-
get is “on track,” Henry said.
Part of that comes from project
cutbacks.
Earlier this year, architects
CANNON SHOTS
R.J. MARX
reduced the building footprint by
about 15 percent, trimming square
footage and adding a third-floor to
the middle- and high-school build-
ing to reduce foundation costs.
Additional “efficiencies”
announced this month come in
plumbing fixtures, roof drains,
floor tile and construction materi-
als — about 40 items at $30,000 or
$40,000 each, Henry said.
To match expenses, the district
lists revenues of $110 million in
bond sales, with $5.4 million in
state matching bonds and interest.
Property assets — disposition
of the current high school building,
Broadway Middle School, Cannon
Beach Elementary and Gearhart
Elementary School — are antici-
pated to total $7 million, a “conser-
vative estimate” Henry said.
Work on the Seaside Heights
Elementary School renovation and
addition is scheduled for mid-Sep-
tember. Site-clearing, erosion-con-
trol, excavation and foundation
work will continue throughout the
winter and the access road from
the Heights to the new campus site
is tentatively rescheduled for 2019.
Hoffman Construction is work-
ing six days a week to get as much
done as possible before the rainy
season.
An approval date of Aug. 24
SEASIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT
In a revised submission to the Army Corps of Engineers, the Seaside
School District seeks to provide wetlands mitigation measures in this
area behind the school bus barn.
from the Army Corps is “hope-
ful thinking,” Henry said. “The
volume of work taking place in
Dog days in canine-friendly Cannon Beach
T
he high season is in full swing, at least
for a few more weeks. Venture into Can-
non Beach and be prepared to encounter
people, lots of people; people waiting in line
for coffee; people lining up in the bakery; peo-
ple crowding into every restaurant for lunch;
people trying to make last-minute dinner res-
ervations; people on the beach.
In addition to human beings, there are also
lots of dogs.
Even the hastiest perusal of the local po-
lice log reveals there’s no shortage of people
who failed to book a hotel room, attempting
to slip past the overnight camping laws to
illegally pitch tents or lie quietly in a sleeping
bag in a hidden part of town.
During the so-called dog days of sum-
mer — Cannon Beach is absolutely a
canine-friendly summer town — July and
August can be maddeningly busy.
Downtown gets the most foot and vehicu-
lar traffic as everyone wants to grab a burger
at Bill’s, or share a famously delicious Ice-
berg Wedge at The Driftwood, which has an
especially dog-friendly outside area, perfect
for people-watching.
The no reservation policy at the Harding
Trading Co. can make it tough to get a table,
if that’s what your heart’s set on. Many year-
round Cannon Beach residents lament during
the summer they don’t even try to come
downtown, unless it’s to hang at Cheri’s,
where locals can almost always score a table.
I probably shouldn’t be leaking this infor-
mation, but I have my favorite midtown Can-
non Beach haunts. Even on the most crowded
summer days, midtown is not impossible.
Nothing pleases me more than browsing
the home décor store, Found.
Publisher
Kari Borgen
Editor
R.J. Marx
Circulation
Manager
Jeremy Feldman
Production
Manager
John D. Bruijn
Advertising Sales
Holly Larkins
Classified Sales
Danielle Fisher
Staff writer
Brenna Visser
EVE MARX
Oyster shooters, a coastal treat, at the
Cannon Beach Hardware Store, aka Screw
and Brew.
VIEW FROM
THE PORCH
EVE MARX
Sure, there’s usually a line in the morning
for coffee at Sleepy Monk, but if you hit
it just right, you can likely wrangle one of
those choice tables on the porch. Not only is
Sleepy Monk an outstanding coffee roaster
(my personal fave is the dark roast Monastery
Blend, but if you favor something lighter, try
Fiddler’s Fusion. Sleepy Monk also bakes
Contributing
writers
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Nancy McCarthy
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
The Cannon Beach Gazette is
published every other week by EO
Media Group.
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside,
Oregon 97138
503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-
9285
PUBLIC MEETINGS
TUESDAY, Sept. 4
their own pastries. I’m partial to the ginger
molasses cookie, which is large enough to
share.
The Cannon Beach Hotel is a beautiful
boutique bed-and-breakfast. I don’t hesitate
to recommend it not only as a hotel accom-
modation, but the adjacent café is also a
sophisticated and intimate dining destination.
Folks with big appetites will want to hit the
Pig ’N Pancake for an awesome breakfast or
lunch. (This location is not open for dinner.)
For a special meal, like for an anniversary or
birthday fete, definitely try the Stephanie Inn
or Newmans at 988.
My favorite midtown place on a Thursday
or Friday afternoon is Screw and Brew, where
they not only make a dynamite bloody Mary,
but also have the best (in my opinion) oyster
shooters.
I admit when I first arrived on the North
Coast, oyster shooters freaked me out. I’m
from the East Coast where raw oysters —
petite, delicate, sweet briny things —are
served on ice on the half shell. So the first
time I encountered the large, meaty, can I say
LARGE again, classic PNW oyster shooter I
was … shocked.
I am happy to report I’m completely on
board with the oyster shooters at Screw and
Brew. Their delectable, sweet brine oysters
are sourced from Willapa Bay. The kitchen
also makes a mean Tillamook cheese grilled-
cheese sandwich. The halibut ceviche is a
fabulous choice, if you’re trying to watch
your calories.
I’ll be hitting midtown more often after
Labor Day when the tourists depart, but even
on a busy summer weekend, Cannon Beach’s
midtown totally rocks.
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Oregon has everyone associated
with construction stretched beyond
capacity.”
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 163
E. Gower St.
TUESDAY, Sept. 11
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
MONDAY, Sept. 17
Ecola Creek Watershed Committee, 4:30 p.m., City
Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
TUESDAY, Sept. 18
Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City
Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
THURSDAY, Sept. 20
Parks and Community Services Committee, 9 a.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review Board Meeting, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
THURSDAY, Sept. 27
Cannon Beach Planning Commission, 6 p.m., City Hall,
163 E. Gower St.
TUESDAY, Oct. 2
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., City Hall, 163
E. Gower St.
TUESDAY, Oct. 9
Cannon Beach City Council, 5:30 p.m., work session,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
TUESDAY, Oct. 16
Cannon Beach Public Works Committee, 9 a.m., City
Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
THURSDAY, Oct. 18
Parks and Community Services Committee, 9 a.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
Cannon Beach Design Review Board Meeting, 6 p.m.,
City Hall, 163 E. Gower St.
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