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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2015)
6A • November 13, 2015 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Local option tax wins voter approval ‘An exciting time for students and staff,’ says superintendent By Katherine Lacaze Seaside Signal On Tuesday, Nov. 3, nearly 70 percent of voters in Seaside School District 10 passed a ballot measure to renew a local option tax to help fund operations in the district for ¿ve years, starting 2016. According to the third unof¿cial results from the Clatsop County Elections Of¿ce, 3,061 ballots were cast, with 2,127, or about 70 percent, supporting the measure; 939 voters voted no. There were 6,758 voters eligible to participate in the election. “What an exciting time for our students and staff!” Seaside School District 10 Superintendent Dr. Doug Dougherty said in an email shortly after the numbers were in. “Our community has passed its ¿fth consec- utive local option levy for Seaside School District. I’m very grateful to everyone who supported the students in the election.” Steve Phillips, chairman of the district’s board of di- rectors, said the local option tax renewal was important because it “allows everyone to move forward in a posi- tive manner.” “Over the next ¿ve years, this investment in our students will continue to directly support the class- es and the variety of pro- gram offerings our students access on a daily basis,” Dougherty added. The district will renew its local option tax, which has been in place since 2000, at a rate of 52 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Each year the tax will pro- vide funds for the district, from $1.22 million in 2016- 17, up to $1.4 million in 2020-21. Overall, more than $6.5 million would be raised through the local option tax. This estimate is based on current data available from the Clatsop County asses- sor. Seaside’s total school budget for 2015-16 was just over $21 million. The funds will support the district, which includes Seaside High School, Broadway Middle School, Seaside Heights Elementary School and Gearhart Ele- mentary School. The district also will include the Can- non Beach Academy when it opens in 2016. According to the state’s Department of Revenue, most taxing districts are al- lowed to ask their patrons for temporary taxing author- ity above the permanent rate limitation. This authority is known as a “local option tax.” Local option taxes are limited to ¿ve years for op- erations and up to 10 years for capital construction pur- poses. This is the ¿fth time voters had the option to re- new the levy. The last local option tax vote took place November 2010, with 55 percent of the voters ap- proving the measure to con- tinue to fund a reduction in classroom sizes and provide a wider range of programs for Seaside students. That vote brought an extra $1.3 million per year on average to the district’s $15 mil- lion general fund. It started at $1,315,754 in 2011-12 and steadily increased to $1,480,892 this year, 2015- 16. The local option levy is not related to building new school facilities at a differ- ent location. Dougherty has indicat- ed he plans to seek another bond measure in the next year or so to build a new school site outside of the tsunami zone, which puts students at three of the dis- trict’s four schools at risk. A bond measure to do so was proposed in 2013 and failed. In the event this local option levy did not pass, “it would have been really tough on everybody,” Phil- lips said. “We would have had to make some major, major cuts,” he said, adding the extra money contributes about 5 or 6 percent to the district’s general fund, used for operations. “It allows us to move forward and to work with the Cannon Beach Academy people and to continue all the positive things the school district has been able to do in the past.” The district will be re- sponsible to budget about $250,000 for the Cannon Beach Academy when it begins serving kindergarten and ¿rst-grade students for the 2016-17 school year. Tuesday night, Dough- erty praised the support from the community. “We had outstanding help from the Vote Yes for Kids campaign team,” he said. “Co-chairs Lori Lum and Gail Dundas coordinat- ed a campaign committee and numerous volunteers and businesses, who shared the need to renew the lo- cal option levy with our community. The campaign committee’s hard work and dedication made the differ- ence.” “On behalf of our stu- dents, staff, and board of directors — thank you for your ongoing support of our students and their schools.” “We had outstanding help from the Vote Yes for Kids campaign team,” he said. Dougherty credited co-chairwomen Lori Lum Toyooka and Gail Dundas for coordinating the cam- paign committee, “and nu- merous volunteers and busi- nesses, who shared the need to renew the local option levy with our community. The campaign committee’s hard work and dedication made the difference.” Toyooka said she also was “absolutely thrilled about the overwhelming support of the communi- ty to help educate our kids and provide great teachers.” She was not involved in campaigning for the local option tax when it was up for vote in 2010, but she was impressed by the wide margin of success it had this election. “I really do think the community does care about providing good education and programs,” she said. Time to show off your trivia skills in tournament On Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m. the Seaside Public Library will host its monthly team trivia tour- nament. Teams can consist of one person or have as many as six people. Trivia nights are informal, fun, competitions where teams battle to see who has the greatest knowledge of all matters trivial. General questions will be asked by our trivia host and the win- ners are the team which, at the end of the night, has correctly answered the most questions. Prizes will be awarded. Seaside Public Library is located at 1131 Broad- way, across from the youth center and swim- ming pool. For more in- formation on this event or other library activities, call 503-738-6742 or visit www.seasidelibrary.org. Future usage of former church building is still up in the air Church from Page 1A Veronica Russell, chairwom- an of the committee. “I don’t know how much more we can do as a commit- tee until the city decides what it wants to do in terms of a budget,” she said. “Our job is just to propose potential uses based on our consensus.” The city cannot incur costs for the building until it determines where the mon- ey would come from. The city purchased the building for $220,000 in September 2014 but did not budget for any improvements or main- tenance of the building in the 2015-16 ¿scal year. Pay- ments for the building’s elec- tricity — used occasionally when the committee meets — are coming out of the city’s budget for City Hall, City Manager Mark Win- stanley said. “There isn’t any budget for this building,” he said, adding any funding deci- sions must come from City Council. In order to create a budget for the building in this ¿scal year, Winstanley said, council “would have to take money away from other things they’ve already bud- geted for.” The main purpose of the acquisition last year was “to make sure the city held the property because of its loca- tion,” Winstanley said. The property is located west of the Seaside Public Library and across Broadway from Broadway Middle School, the Seaside Visitors Bureau, the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District pool and the skate park. The committee’s next step is to share information with Larson and present recom- mendations to City Council on his behalf. Council then can narrow down potential uses based on what they de- termine is appropriate and feasible. R.J. MARX PHOTO/SEASIDE SIGNAL Mark Winstanley ‘There isn’t any budget for this building.’ Mark Winstanley city manager After collecting input from their respective interest groups and other members of the public, the committee created a recommended ac- tion plan, with three phases. The ¿rst recommended phase is to prepare the build- ing for “limited use” and take advantage of the two available of¿ces. The Necan- icum Watershed Council and the Clatsop-Nehalem Tribal Council have expressed in- terest in using the of¿ces, if or when they are available. Members of the committee said it is important to get people in the building before winter to protect the city’s in- vestment in the property. Either arrangement would be a “win-win” for the city, according to minutes Russell prepared from an Oct. 7 com- mittee meeting. There would be a pres- ence in the building to pre- vent vandalism and break- ins, running water to keep pipes from freezing in winter and use of the heater to miti- gate mold and mildew. After speaking with for- mer Public Works Director Neal Wallace and Rich Rus- sell, of Russell Construc- tion, the committee seeks to address some items prior to occupancy of the of¿ce other events. The committee identi¿ed potential improve- ments such as putting in new Àooring that is durable and water-resistant; leveling the steep hill on the west edge of the property; updating the landscaping in the front yard; and other items to be deter- mined. Nothing is guaranteed at this point and improvements will depend on what purpose the facility is given. Winstanley said the coun- cil could choose a variety of courses after receiving the recommendations and the process to get the building or property in use could take a long time. The council also could create a standing com- mittee to continue strategiz- ing for the building’s use or remove the building to use the property in another way. He encouraged the com- mittee members to be present when they discuss their rec- ommendations with council, which likely will happen in December when Larson is available. BUSINESS DIRECTORY R EMODELING & R EPAIR Da n Cho jn a cki Rem o d elin g a n d Rep a ir 20 yea rs exp erien ce to better s erve you CCB #204834 • Ho m e Rep a irs • Des ign & Co n s u lta tio n • Rem o d el Pro jects • K itchen & Ba thro o m s • S m a ll Ad d itio n s • Do o r & W in d o w Rep la cem en t • Pres s u re W s hin g • Ro t Rep a ir S p ecia lis t 3 6 0 .5 80 .813 2 O w n er chojnackirem odeling@gm ail.com Da n Chojn a ck i F LOORING 2/3 of Showroom ALWAYS ON SALE! Paying tribute to heroes Heroes from Page 1A Several hundred veter- ans, their families and area residents ¿lled the lobby of the Convention Center. The Rev. David Sweeney, pastor of Calvary Episcopal Church, provided the invo- cation, followed by words from veterans Master Ser- geant John Gates and Ser- geant Lou Neubecker. At 10:55 a.m., audience members stood and saluted as Scout Pack 540 raised the Àag outside the center and Miss Clatsop County Alex- is Mather sang the National Anthem. A week of observance Previewing the cere- mony on Saturday night, the Clatsop County Sons of Beaches 4x4 Club held a parade of Àags in honor of Veterans Day. About a dozen members of the club brought their four-wheel drive vehicles to Broadway decked out in Àags and pa- triotic emblems to show their support for America’s veterans. Several mem- bers are former members of America’s armed forc- es, said local resident Jay Pitman, who served in the United States Navy for two years. “We like to pay tribute and this was one of our ways of paying tribute,” Pitman said. The procession started at the Seaside American Le- gion Post 99, traveled down Broadway to the Turnaround and ¿nished at the Seaside Elks Lodge on Avenue A. The parade included a roll- ing memorial Àoat, created last year by Pitman, a mem- ber of Seaside American Le- gion Post 99 and the Legion Riders. The Àoat is a tribute to veterans, past and pres- ent. It includes military Àags representing all branches the military and other patri- otic colors and symbols. Pit- man included the names and photos of some local veter- ans who died, in addition to a photo of fallen soldier James Trebor. On Monday night, the Seaside City Council issued a proclamation paying trib- ute to the “men and women who have risked their lives to preserve the liberty of our nation, the families who support them, and the he- roes no longer with us.” “Whether active duty, reserve or National Guard, they are our nation’s ¿n- est citizens, and they have shown the heights to which Americans can rise when asked and inspired to do so,” wrote Mayor Don Larson. Specializing in Fresh Oregon Wild Seafood Window Treatments, Fabric, Wallpaper, Flooring and Interior Design 2311 N. 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Call or Email S M O K ED S ALM O N & FRES H O YS TERS “We’ve been commercial fishing the Pacific Coast since 1977!” Wendy Richardson 503.791.6615 wrichardson@dailyastorian.com for your Thanksgivi ng D i nner BUSINESS G ift C ards Avai l abl e For the latest news, go to SeasideSignal.com spaces, among them making the building safe and secure, cleaning mold and mildew, testing functionality of at least one bathroom and ob- taining the property occupan- cy permit. Several of those items were completed at the volunteer work party in Oc- tober. The second proposed phase, preparing the building for public uses with less than 75 occupants, would require more extensive repairs and maintenance. Some possible projects might include repair- ing structural issues in the cinder-block walls around the northwest sanctuary door- way; replacing the furnace; removing structures such as the altar, the cross on top of the building and the exterior cyclone fencing; making at least one bathroom handi- cap-accessible; and painting interior walls. The third phase would be to improve the property for public uses with more than 75 occupants, such as a speak- er’s series, plays, concerts or Seafood Restaurant • Market • Smokehouse 2nd + Spruce, Cannon Beach • 503.436.9130 DIRECTORY