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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2015)
8A • March 20, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Seaside City Council listens to suggestion for watershed plan Seaside officials get a ‘gentle nudge’ on plan Both Voelke and Mel- yssa Graeper, coordinator for the watershed council, had asked the city to tem- By Nancy McCarthy porarily halt timber har- Seaside Signal vesting until they could offer harvesting alterna- In a gentle nudge, Katie tives. The City Council, Voelke, executive director however, decided at its of the North Coast Land February meeting to con- Conservancy, suggested to tinue the harvest. City the Seaside City Council staff members later dis- that, before the city em- covered after searching barks on another timber the archives, that the city harvesting project in the had a timber management Necanicum watershed, it plan that hadn’t been up- should have a management dated since 1983. plan in place. The entire Necani- cum watershed consists of 49,000 acres; of that, the South Fork portion amounts to 5,192 acres. The city of Seaside owns 1,100 acres in the South Fork; the rest is split nearly evenly by timber operators Campbell Global and Wey- erhaeuser. An updated management KATIE VOELKE plan would enable the city to protect the city’s drink- “There might be ways ing water resources, Voelke we could support each other said. By having trees in the and work collaboratively to- watershed to collect rainfall gether,” Voelke said, while and moisture from fog and presenting a PowerPoint WR DFW DV D QDWXUDO ¿OWHULQJ program detailing the bene- system, the costs to treat the ¿WVRIDZDWHUVKHGSODQ water are reduced dramati- “This is not a presenta- cally, she added. tion about complaints,” she Protecting and enhanc- said at the council’s March ing natural water resources 9 meeting. “This is a dis- is more important than ever cussion about the opportu- with the drought facing nity to work together in the California, Voelke said. future.” “Winters like this show Voelke’s remarks came that you can’t take wa- in response to a decision ter for granted,” she said. PDGH E\ FLW\ RI¿FLDOV WR “Californians are coming to clearcut 60 acres of tim- Oregon, and we’re going to ber from its property in have huge pressures on the the South Fork of the Ne- state and huge pressures on canicum watershed. The our water system.” decision was made without To manage the city’s providing an opportunity portion of the watershed, for comment from the land several funding sources are conservancy nor the Neca- available, Voelke said. The nicum Watershed Council. state and local environmen- Neal Wallace, the city’s tal organizations could be public works director, said tapped. proceeds from the timber “Certainly forest har- harvest would be used to vesting can be a part of the purchase additional land in stewardship plan, but it can the watershed. be part of a conservation NANCY MCCARTHY PHOTO Former Seaside City Councilor Stubby Lyons receives a plaque from Seaside Mayor Don Larson honoring Lyons’ 14 years of service on the City Council and his extensive involve- ment in community activities. Lyons said later that it was the “best plaque” he had ever received. A former Seaside High School teacher and football coach, Lyons, who resigned from the council last year, was honored at the March 9 City Council meeting. approach rather than reve- nue producing,” she said. Instead of clearcutting and replanting trees that eventually become uni- form in size, the manage- ment plan would be more selective in the trees har- vested, leaving room for smaller trees to grow and protect stream banks, she said. Local residents might also support the city’s ef- forts to manage the water- shed, said Voelke, noting that Cannon Beach resi- dents approved a bond mea- sure to purchase land in the Ecola Creek watershed. She also cited Astoria’s effort to protect its forest through the use of carbon credits, which could result in $1 million in 10 years for the city. “We are the people drink- ing the water,” she said. “Of- ten, the more people know about their water, where their water comes from, the more they care about it. If they know more about the ‘why,’ the more they are willing to support it.” Mayor Don Larson and Councilors Jay Barber and Don Johnson said they sup- ported Voelke’s suggestion and wanted to explore the idea further with the land conservancy and the water- shed council. In other business, the council: • Heard a complaint from a Wahanna Road res- ident that his neighbor had cut down a stand of trees ZLWKRXW ¿UVW REWDLQLQJ SHU- mission from the city; • Heard a request from the Seaside Elks Lodge that the lodge be excluded from paying fees into the Down- town Maintenance District EHFDXVHLWLVDQRQSUR¿WRU- ganization; • Heard an annual report on the Seaside Public Li- brary from library Director Esther Moberg. Fire station tops list of Gearhart’s 2015 goals FXVRQWKH¿UHGHSDUWPHQW Sweet said a solution likely would include an- other bond measure, but By Katherine Lacaze the council might want to Seaside Signal determine if repairing the old station or building a Of a list of 50 potential new one would be more city projects, replacing or cost-effective. If the deci- UHQRYDWLQJWKH¿UHVWDWLRQ sion were made to build a is the Gearhart City Coun- new station, the city then cil’s top priority for 2015. could choose a location and 7KH FRXQFLO LGHQWL¿HG develop a budget, he said. Councilor Dan Jesse other projects in its recent goal-setting session, in- suggested that the coun- cluding: investigating sys- cil should revisit the city’s tem development charges, comprehensive plan. Coun- revamping the city website cilor Kerry Smith agreed it and updating the city’s would be good to “bring it into the 21st century.” comprehensive plan. Jesse said the tone and The council’s list was separated into categories wording of the plan give such as asset management, the idea that Gearhart is a transportation, parks and closed community. “If you read it before recreation and public safe- ty. From those, they select- you moved into the com- ed the projects they valued munity, you wouldn’t WKH PRVW 7KH ¿UH VWDWLRQ want to move to the city,” he said. emerged at the top. Updating the compre- “That’s probably one of our No. 1 goals, to do hensive plan would start something with that build- with the Gearhart Planning ing,” said City Adminis- Commission, which would make recommendations trator Chad Sweet. Mayor Dianne Widdop for the City Council to agreed that the facility is “in consider for adoption. Other goals the council desperate need” of repairs. “If we have an earth- discussed at its work ses- quake of any kind, that sion included: • Replacing the city’s building is down. I would be very worried about a water main; 5H¿QDQFLQJ D very bad storm,” she said. “To me, this is just one of general obligation bond; • Obtaining grant fund- those things where aren’t we lucky nothing has hap- ing to develop a parks and recreation master plan; pened yet.” • Updating the emer- When the community voted in 2006 on a $3.75 gency operations and haz- million general obligation ard mitigation plans; • Augmenting evacua- bond measure to address the problem, Widdop said, tion supplies and facilities; • Finishing the city’s the proposal included plans for a high-end build- short-term rental policy. Sweet said he would ing to house the police department, City Hall and update the goals list, which ¿UHVWDWLRQ7KHERQGPHD- the council will revisit at sure didn’t pass because a future meeting. The list people were concerned will be posted on the city’s website and blog. Sweet about cost, she said. Widdop suggested de- will make quarterly reports veloping a less expensive about the city’s progress on SURSRVDOWRVSHFL¿FDOO\IR- the goals. Updated comprehensive plan also high on list ANSWERS ON : Safety Get your remodel rolling today. Home Equity Line of Credit “BEING SAFE AROUND ELECTRICITY IS ALWAYS ON MY HONEY-DO LIST.” Introductory rate for 5 months Rates as low as 1.50 % 3.99 % APR* Rate available 2/14/15–4/24/15 Rates are subject to change APR* Variable rate after Introductory Period With competitive rates and flexible terms, a U.S. Bank Home Equity Line of Credit may help you make your dream kitchen a reality. - Dave, Homeowner © 2015 Pacifi c Power Branch Sprucing up your home? Safety should be the first step of every project. We have tips and information to help you stay safe around electricity indoors and out – especially near power lines. Your safety matters to us. 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