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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2019)
A6 • Friday, April 19, 2019 | Cannon Beach Gazette | CannonBeachGazette.com CITY COUNCIL ROUNDUP District wins $2.5M for seismic upgrades By R.J. MARX Cannon Beach Gazette Seaside Heights Elementary School was among the dozens of schools and emergency ser- vices buildings across Oregon to receive funds for seismic reha- bilitation grants from Business Oregon. A total of $85 million was approved for 34 schools and six emergency service organizations, Business Oregon reported Friday. The Seaside School District will receive $2.5 million for work at the Heights. Total cost for the elementary school and gymna- sium portion of school construc- tion will total between $14 mil- lion and $15 million, project manager Jim Henry said at an April 6 meeting of the district’s School Construction Citizen Oversight Committee. The Heights project is part of the larger plan to move local schools out of the tsunami zone to the Southeast Hills, approved by voters with passage of a $99.7 million bond in 2016. The expanded school will Site plan for larger tree work required stiffen the building overall. The maximum grant per school is $2.5 million, District Superintendent Sheila Roley said. Of the $85 mil- lion delivered, SEISMIC GRANT about $75 million PROGRAM will go to Oregon schools. The program was created by the In announc- Oregon Legislature in 2005 and ing the grant, transferred to Business Oregon Business Oregon in 2014. reported that the Public K-12 school districts, Seismic Rehabil- community colleges, and educa- itation Grant Pro- tion service districts are eligible gram is a state of for the grant program. For emer- Oregon compet- gency services facilities, the itive grant pro- emphasis is on fi rst responder R.J. Marx/Seaside Signal gram that pro- buildings. This includes hospital Members of the district’s School Construction vides funding for buildings with acute inpatient Citizen Oversight Committee visit the construction the seismic reha- care facilities, fi re stations, police site in the Southeast Hills. District superintendent bilitation of crit- stations, sheriff ’s offi ces, 9-1-1 Sheila Roley is at center, in the yellow vest. ical public build- centers, and Emergency Opera- ings, particularly tions Centers. house current students as well as will go to public schools students from Gearhart. reinforc- and emergency Gearhart Elementary School ing the services facilities. will close in June 2020 and stu- roof, exterior and interior wall It is one of the infrastructure pro- dents relocated to the expanded connections, along with stiffer grams Business Oregon adminis- Heights campus outside the tsu- walls to provide additional shear ters to help develop livable and nami inundation zone. capacity inside the school. Exte- prosperous communities in addi- Project manager Jim Henry rior concrete walls will be rein- tion to business development ser- said funds from the seismic grant forced in their footings to help vices and programs. By CARA MICO For Cannon Beach Gazette The Cannon Beach City Council approved an amendment to the tree removal ordinance at the April 2 meet- ing. The new ordinance requires a site plan for any exterior work that may disturb any tree greater than six inches, including those within one tree protec- tion zone of the project. Emergency Manager Mike Myers and City Manager Bruce St. Denis requested that the council authorize either the city manager or the mayor to sign grants on behalf of the City. Mey- ers is currently pursuing a Business Oregon grant which could fund up to $30,000 of staff time for tactical sce- nario planning and outreach. Awareness month April is now offi cially Sexual Abuse Awareness Month and Child Abuse Awareness Month at the request of Police Chief Jason Schermerhorn, which was unanimously by the council. The council named April 12 as the offi cial city of Cannon Beach Arbor Day. A tree planting ceremony took place at the Cannon Beach Academy to honor the importance of trees. School district alters Seaside Heights gym plan By R.J. MARX Cannon Beach Gazette Faced with rising construc- tion costs and a shortage of labor, Seaside School District Superin- tendent Sheila Roley and proj- ect manager Jim Henry presented designs for a new freestanding gymnasium and covered play area at Seaside Heights Elemen- tary School. The original plan, part of the $100 million bond approved by voters to move schools out of the tsunami inundation zone, had been to leave the Seaside Heights building “as is,” Roley said, and maintain the existing gymnasium. The new freestanding 6,000-square-foot gymnasium, designed for elementary physi- cal education classes, will feature regulation high school basketball courts, offi ces and restrooms. The modifi cation could save the district $500,000, Henry said after the April 2 Seaside Planning Commission meeting. Plans for a classroom wing building on the west edge of the site have been replaced by new wing of six-to-eight classrooms on the north side of the Heights building, including an outdoor classroom area between the building and new classrooms. The elementary school’s for- mer gym space will be reconfi g- ured into classrooms. The changes were driven by a 7 percent escalation in construc- tion costs every year, Roley said. “Any way we looked at it, the original plan was not going to be within our budget.” The changes required city approval as “major modifi ca- tions” to the school district plan, Henry said. “We reviewed it with (Plan- ning Director) Kevin Cupples and he thought it was enough changes moving the building and the amount of square footage that he thought it would be worth- while for the Planning Commis- sion to hear it,” Henry said after the meeting. The goal is still to provide one elementary school of approxi- mately 800 students for the dis- trict, architect Dan Hess said in a memo to the commission. By taking away the gymna- sium and remodeling that into classrooms, a freestanding gym will be built at “considerably less cost,” Roley said. “From the beginning we have been looking at the plans as we go and adjust- ing the plans as needed — you have to trim or cut back.” The district could save up to $500,000 on the gym alone, Henry added. Commercial-level building projects throughout the state and region have created a shortage of skilled labor, Roley said. “We have a great team of our major players, but subcontractors are now in such high demand they can set their rates and go where they want to go.” To fi ll construction needs, the district has recruited teams from around the country, including a concrete masonry unit from Flor- ida and sheetrockers from Alaska. “It’s put us in a daily exercise of how do we maximize the funds we have,” Roley said. “We don’t have the option to go over bud- get. It’s meant we’ve had to trim some things along the way.” Planning commission- ers unanimously approved the modifi cations. Construction at the elementary school is scheduled to begin after spring dismissal. “We’re getting pretty close to having the fi nal plans all dialed in,” Roley said. Utility relief Public Works Director Karen LaBonte presented a utility relief request to the council on behalf of the owner of 2939 South Hemlock. A toi- let leak caused over $3,000 in excess utility fees which was paid by the tenant. By city ordinance, payment is required for any water leak that enters into the sewer system. Although the leak was caught and repaired quickly, and the owner paid the bill, LaBonte recommended to deny the request for relief based on ordinance. She also suggested that new meter modules which monitor daily usage and limits and caps on billing would eliminate this type of problem in the future. The council unanimously denied the utility relief request. 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