SEASIDESIGNAL.COM • COMPLIMENTARY COPY
OUR 109th YEAR • May 1, 2015
What’s next for convention center?
Expansion committee examines possibilities
Consulting group to research alternative funding options in wake of community’s
overwhelmingly negative response to sales tax, lodging tax increase
as a crucial prerequisite to
the proposed expansion,
but parking is even more
A recent survey of Sea- important and must be ad-
side Downtown District dressed at some point, re-
Association and Chamber gardless if the project is
of Commerce members re- halted, said Jeff Kilday,
garding the potential Sea- chair of the Convention
side Civic and Convention Center Commission and a
Center expansion as pro- member of the sub-commit-
posed raised concerns, not tee on the expansion.
only as to how it will be
The proposed expan-
funded, but also issues that sion, which is estimated to
exist external of the project, cost $25 million, would in-
such as downtown parking. crease the facility’s space
Finding a viable funding by about 40,000-square-
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By Katherine Lacaze
Seaside Signal
First Saturday
Art Walk
opening
downtown
on May 2
Celebrating 11 years in
2015, Seaside First Satur-
day Art Walk gets under-
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each month, from 5 to 7
p.m., visitors meet artists,
sip wine or snag appetizers
by favorite restaurants or
personal chefs, view artist
demonstrations and, often
times enjoy live music.
The events are staged
in local businesses, shops,
boutiques and dining estab-
lishments located between
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in the historic Gilbert Dis-
trict of downtown Seaside.
Complimentary parking is
to be found on the corner of
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And, so it is, on its
11th year, 11 spots to see
and be seen on May 2:
• T. Anjuli’s Gallery, 5
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turing well-known artist
and gallery owner Billy
Lutz, whose specialty is
mural painting.
• Seaside
Coffee
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Drive - Features the pen
and ink artwork of Mor-
gan Stoller.
• Seaside
Antique
Mall, 726 Broadway -
Featuring Oregon coast
photographer Linda Fen-
ton-Mendenhall.
• SeaSoles Shoe Bou-
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Where famous Seaside
artist Jorjett Strumme
work is displayed.
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ing Melodie Kozol, own-
er/artist, whose shop is
full of curiosities and art.
PAID
PERMIT NO. 97
ASTORIA, OR
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US POSTAGE
See Artwalk, Page 12A
expansion have recom-
mended constructing a new
12,000-square-foot exhibit
hall; converting the Pa-
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Room into a multi-purpose
ballroom or banquet space;
adding an additional 8,830
square feet of meeting and
break-out space; along with
storage space and restrooms.
There is space to host a
large group of people for
their meeting or to feed
them, but not to do both
seamlessly, and it’s cost-
ing the center customers,
Seaside Convention Center
Kilday said. Additionally,
there aren’t adequate facili-
ties in the nearby downtown
area to feed 400 plus peo-
ple within an hour, which
is usually what groups allot
for lunch.
“It’s about logistics,”
Kilday added.
Since the expansion
would remove at least 40
parking spaces to the west
of the center, a $6 million
multi-story parking structure
is being considered, as well.
It will cost the city about
$200,000 per month for 30
years to pay off the debt
from both endeavors, Sea-
side Civic and Convention
Center General Manager
Russ Vandenberg has said.
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cial feasibility study con-
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Consulting, suggested three
funding options to cover
the $31 million: a 6 per-
cent increase in Seaside’s
lodging taxes; a joint agree-
ment between Seaside, As-
toria and Cannon Beach
to raise lodging taxes by
See Expansion, Page 12A
Students learn to return
SHES fi fth-graders release
steelhead into China Creek
By Katherine Lacaze
Seaside Signal
T
“
o freedom!” That was the rallying cry
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siastically released about 500 steelhead trout
into the wild at China Creek April 15.
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John Meyer led his class on a short hike to the
creek. From two locations, each student got to
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bucket, make a toast to their impending lib-
eration and then carefully pour the creatures
into their new habitat, which was ripe with the
promise of shade, clean water and the minimal
presence of predators.
Meyer has worked with the Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife for four years
to give students this opportunity, which he’s
incorporated into the science unit about life
cycles. The topic is one of many, including
ecosystems, adaptation and watersheds, ad-
dressed by state goals for science.
As part of the department’s classroom egg
incubation project, an aspect of the Salm-
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a hatchery. The eggs are kept in tanks at the
school as they hatch and enter their alevin
stage. The alevin stay hidden among the grav-
el and are nourished by their own yolk sacs.
Once the yolk sacs are absorbed, the young
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release them into the wild.
The activity, said Meyer, has been “hugely
successful on an educational level.”
The batch released in April was the second
this year. In January, Meyer and his class re-
leased 500 steelhead trout in Coho Creek.
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tor Melyssa Graeper, who often will accom-
pany the students on their trips, said it’s too
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positive effect.
“It really can’t hurt,” she said.
KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO
Fifth-grader Everst Sibony, right, raises a plastic cup containing some steelhead trout to toast
their freedom before releasing them into China Creek with the help of Seaside Heights Ele-
mentary School fi fth-grade teacher John Meyer, who took his class on a short hike April 15 to
China Creek so they could release the fi sh. Meyer does the activity as part of the science unit
on life cycles, the ecosystem and adaptation.
that runs beneath Spruce Loop Road near the
school.
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nered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wild-
life about three years ago to replace the old
culvert with a new one, which allows for eas-
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For several years before the replacement,
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the culvert,” because they couldn’t handle nu-
merous obstacles to migrate upstream, such
KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO
as a two-foot perch at the downstream outlet,
Crossing the culvert
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$IWHU WKH ¿VK ZHUH VXFFHVVIXOO\ GHOLYHUHG in areas. In addition, the road was beginning to School fi fth-graders peer into China Creek
from atop a bridge after releasing a few hun-
to their new home, the class continued on the
See Steelhead, Page 9A dred steelhead trout into the water.
path until they reached the Coho Creek culvert
Archibald tapped as new head of recreation district
three alternates – met with
technical and community
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IT and Marketing Manager
Darren Gooch, participated
By Katherine Lacaze
in a public meet-and-greet
Seaside Signal
later that evening. They
interviewed with the board
Skyler Archibald, of
of directors April 24, after
Gearhart, has been hired as
which the board made its
the new executive director
decision in a 3-2 vote.
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They offered him the posi-
& Recreation District.
tion on the understanding he
At a meeting April 24, the
must meet the requirements
KATHERINE LACAZE PHOTO
recreation district’s board of
of a clear background check,
directors voted to offer the Skyler Archibald, right, speaks with Ryan Stanley, recreation
references and drug test as
position to Archibald, and coordinator, left, and Grace Smith, fi tness and special events
per district policies, Blake
he has accepted. Details of coordinator, during a meet-and-greet with executive director said. The salary is being ne-
his employment are still be- candidates on April 23.
gotiated. The Special Dis-
ing worked out, but he ex-
tricts Association of Oregon,
will continue to do so until
pects to start in July.
The recreation district which has helped the district
Mary Blake, a former Archibald, who currently ¿QLVKHG LWV KLULQJ SURFHVV through the recruitment pro-
general manager of the works as director of recre- ODVW ZHHN 7KUHH ¿QDOLVWV FHVVZLOO¿QDOL]HWKHKLUH
district, is serving as inter- DWLRQ DW 3DFL¿F 8QLYHUVLW\ – from an original pool of
Archibald has a long-
im executive director and in Forest Grove, begins.
six primary candidates and standing connection to the
Local hire looks forward
to serving communities,
residents he cares about
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up in the area and attended
Broadway Middle School
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degree in speech commu-
nication and writing from
Portland State University
and a master’s degree in
sport management from
Washington State Univer-
sity.
Through various experi-
ences, Archibald “discov-
ered recreation as a career
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ly worked at Washington
State University in its rec-
reation department and
oversaw sport leagues and
clubs, youth programming
and special events.
See Archibald, Page 9A